


Nova's Vampire Diaries

by NicholasFlamelFan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Cure For Lycanthropy, Death Eaters, Evil Voldemort, F/M, Family Fluff, Good Malfoy Family, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Potions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 06:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 57,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14490492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicholasFlamelFan/pseuds/NicholasFlamelFan
Summary: Cassiopeia Nova Malfoy is a witch and like her name suggests a Malfoy. As soon as the Dark Lord shows interest in marking her, her parents send her off to one of their homes in Mystic Falls to keep her safe. Will she really be as sage as they hope? What happens when the people there find out what she is?





	1. Chapter 1

_*3rd Person PoV*_

"Malfoy," the Dark Lord hissed "I heard that your daughter was off an age where she can be marked."

"M-My Lord?" Lucius stuttered.

"Your daughter, Lucius. Bring her to me at the next meeting," Voldemort demanded.

The Malfoy Lord swallowed heavily, but bowed "Yes, My Lord."

His oldest child, Cassiopeia Nova Malfoy, had turned seventeen several months before, just a few weeks before she had graduated from Beauxbatons. No matter how loyal Lord Malfoy might be to the Dark Lord, he never wanted to bring his family into his services. They should be able to choose for themselves whether they wanted to join the Dark side or not.

Nova - as the seventeen-year-old was known as to her friends - was a normal girl for the most part. If you didn't mind the fact that she was a witch that was. She was the exact opposite of her younger brother Draco. She wasn't quite as loud and spoilt as him. Whereas Draco preferred to run around and fly, Nova would rather curl up in the library to read a book or - much to Lucius' displeasure - learn to cook and bake from the house elves. She was more the quiet, smart kid who had few friends, but the friends that she had were so close to her that they were barely apart longer than necessary.

Lucius would have to send his daughter a letter to get her home and then as far away from England as possible. He didn't dare think what would happen to his precious little girl if the Dark Lord got his hands on her. He shuddered and bowed again, when Voldemort released his followers from the meeting.

"You're not giving him Cass, will you?" Severus Snape whispered into his friend's ear. The spy was concerned for his goddaughter, especially since he knew more about her views than her parents.

"No, as soon as can get a letter written, I'm sending her away. I-I'll have to talk to Cissy, but there's a house in America where she could stay. It's not too far from a magical community, so she might be able to continue her studies," Lucius muttered, apparating away, his friend following in his wake.

At Malfoy Manor, the two men immediately seated themselves in the drawing room with a big glass of Bourbon.

"Nobby," Lucius called out to one of his elves "Tell my wife I want to see her."

"Yes, Master. Nobby be doing that. Is Master needs anything else?"

"Not at the moment."

The small house elf popped away, leaving the two Death Eaters to their thoughts.

"Where is that house anyway?" Severus questioned after a few beats of silence.

Lucius rubbed his forehead in agitation "Mystic Falls, Virginia. My grandfather's brother settled there as one of the Founding Families of the town."

"What are you talking about?" Narcissa questioned with a small frown "What happened at the meeting?"

Her husband looked at her and sighed "The Dark Lord wants Cassiopeia marked. Severus and I talked about sending her away. To keep her out of the War."

"You think this will work?" Narcissa whispered worriedly.

"I don't know, but I'll take the punishment if it means my children are safe," Lucius sighed, draining his glass "I'm writing Cassiopeia. Hopefully, she'll understand that we want her safe."

"She will, Luc," Severus assured him "My goddaughter already thought that something like this might happen."

"Wha-? How?"

Severus rolled his eyes "Because that girl is smart. Cass knows what's going on and she understands better than you think."

"I'll just write the letter now. We'll discuss the rest with her," Lucius nodded, walking towards his office.


	2. Packing Up

"What's going on?" I frowned, stepping into the drawing room in my parents' Manor.

My father stepped forward and lead me to one of the sofas "There's something your mother and I have to discuss with you, Cassiopeia."

I grimaced at my full name, but nodded in confusion. My friends and I had been traveling through the Sahara desert to find some rare ingredients that I needed for several experimental potions of mine. I was trying to study potions and healing in depth, but there was no Master in England who I want to apprentice to. They were too limited when it came to magic "What is it?"

"Well, er," my father stuttered.

I blinked. This had to be bad. My father never ever dropped his Malfoy mask. Not even when he was being gentle with Draco or me.

Father cleared his throat "The Dark Lord wants me to bring you to the next meeting. You're supposed to be marked."

"What?" I shouted, jumping up "But I don't want to serve him."

Mother pulled me into a gentle hug, stopping my nervous pacing "We know, dear. That's why your uncle, father and I discussed where you could hide. Your great-grandfather's brother settled into a very small community in America. Mystic Falls, it's called. If you'd be amenable, there's also a magical community a few miles away. They are looking for a Potions/Healer apprentice."

"You have that all thought out, don't you?" I smirked in amusement.

"Of course," my father nodded "I never wanted to put one of my children in danger. My father forced me to join his cause and I don't deny that I liked it, but I don't want my children to go through the same."

My smirk turned into a small smile "It's alright, father. I actually wanted to talk to you about moving for an apprenticeship."

They sighed in relief "That's good. Now, I'll come with you to get you settled into the house. The Ministry is your task. Also, Missy and Nobby will be your elves from now on."

I nodded in thanks "That's great. Thank you both for giving me this choice."

"You're our daughter and our oldest child. We'll always care for you." Mother ran a hand through my long white blonde hair "There's one more thing though. We'll give you your great uncle Lucien's diaries. They detail the history of the town. He had a hand in founding Mystic Falls, so there might be some social obligations there."

"So basically like the elitist circles here," I hummed "I can do that. Not that I have another choice."

Father raised an eyebrow at me "You have another choice. A bad one, but another choice nevertheless."

I snorted out a laugh, earning a light slap on the back of my head from my mother. Right, I forgot. Ladies do not do things like that. Properness and all that.

"Sorry, mother. There is no other choice, I'm afraid. Thank you again for not forcing me... Wait, what about Draco?"

The Malfoy Lord winced "Draco is too young to be marked currently, so there's no danger yet. We will talk to him once the problem is imminent."

I bit my lip and stared into my father's grey eyes "But you will give him a choice?"

"Yes, Cassiopeia. Draco will receive the same choice you have," Mother explained gently "Now, how about you go up to your room and rest? The house elves will help you pack tomorrow. Your father will take you to the house in the afternoon or late evening."

"Yes, mother," I nodded, kissing her cheek "Goodnight, father. And thank you again."

The next morning was spent with me running around, trying to pack everything I could possibly need into the bags I was taking with me. The only problem was that I didn't have many clothes that I could wear in the non-magical world. I would have to change that. Maybe it would be a good idea to stop in New York for a bit of a shopping trip before going further West to Virginia.

I walked through the Manor, trying to locate my father. When I finally found him, he was working on something in his office "Father?" I called through the door.

"Cassiopeia. Please, come in," he waved, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk "I trust everything is going well?"

"More or less," I nodded "I'm going to go to Diagon for a bit now and later make a pitstop in New York. I need some non... muggle clothes."

Father nodded thoughtfully "Yes, I forgot about that... Go ahead. Your vault was filled up, so don't be afraid to spend as much as you want."

I groaned "Really? I told you before that I don't need that much money."

"Malfoys always look their best," he recited to me. That was a phrase I had been hearing since I was a child "So I'm asking you to go right ahead and buy whatever you need to do exactly that. Oh, before I forget. Your great uncle also had a vault for whoever takes his place in Mystic Falls. It's yours now as well."

Great! What was I supposed to do with that much money? I mean, it's great to not worry about having to buy necessities, but both my personal vault and the one from Uncle Lucien were way too overflowing if I knew my family.

The afternoon I was walking through muggle London, going into Harrods and several other high class stores. But not only in those, I spent money. There were also some clothes I likes in some of the other stores. At the end of my trip, I had quite a few dresses and skirts along with blouses, tops and shirts. There was also the odd pair of pants and shorts, but not too many, since I wasn't really used to wearing them. In Beauxbatons the school uniform consisted of a dress and at home, I was also wearing dresses or skirts along with robes and cloaks most of the time.

It was around three thirty when I arrived back home to see my father already waiting for me "Ready?" he questioned "Nobby and Missy already took your things to the house, so let's go."

I smiled lightly "If I didn't know any better I'd say you want to get rid of me." I walked forward and pulled my mother into a light embrace "Goodbye, mother. I'll be in touch."

"My beautiful daughter. Take care of yourself," she whispered, hiding her tears behind her pureblood mask.

"Tell Draco that I'll write him soon," I told her, kissing her cheek one last time before stepping into the fireplace.


	3. Arriving

As soon as I was more or less settled, my father left back to England. Well, it seemed as if the Floo was already connected, so that's one less thing on my list of things I had to do at MACUSA.

I still had to officially enter the country, get a permit to study here, maybe get some information about the town and register my house elves and wand.

It was still quite early here. Almost noon, but the international Floo exhausted me further after my shopping trip and the fact that I've been through a few time zones in the last 24 hours.

"Missy," I called the house elf who had taken care of me since I was a baby "Can you go grocery shopping, please? I'm going out for lunch, so I only need them for tomorrow."

"Yes, Mistress Nova," Missy nodded excitedly "Missy be taking care of everything with Nobby."

I grinned at the small creature "I know you will, Missy. Thank you. I'll be back later."

"Master places a car in garage for you, Mistress."

"Really?" I ran out and through the door that lead to the garage and froze. Holy- I heard about these cars. They really were luxury cars as far as I heard from the first generation witches in France. My father bought me a Tesla... Model S, I believe. So much for trying not to draw attention to myself. I checked the GPS for a place to eat and was off.

The Mystic Grill was an ordinary... Grill... Even if they weren't very creative with the name.

"Welcome to the Mystic Grill. Are you knew?" a blond boy my age asked.

"Er, yes," I nodded "I'm Nova. Nova Malfoy."

"Matt Donovan. Nice to meet you, Nova. Can I get you anything to drink?"

I bit my lip in thought "Just a glass of water, please."

"You're from England?" Matt asked, handing me the glass.

"Thanks. What gave it away?" I teased lightly "The accent?"

He blushed "Sorry."

I waved him off "It's fine. Yes, I grew up in England, but I spent the last seven years in France to go to school."

"Can I ask what you're going here?"

"My great-grandfather's brother had a part in founding this town, I believe. I moved into the Mansion he built here," I explained "Oh, and can I have a garden burger with chips?"

"Chips?"

I smirked "Sorry, forgot you Americans use fries."

Matt chuckled "Well, you're in America now, Nova. No one will understand your Britishness."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I huffed "Hey, can you tell me where I can find the mayor? I probably should inform them of the return of one of the supposed Founding Families."

"Sure. It's the huge building at the end of the road. Mrs. Lockwood should be in later. She just recently took the job from her husband when he died," the boy explained.

I frowned. I started on the journal, read enough to know about the Vampires that were in town 1864. As far as my uncle wrote they were all rounded up and burned or at least imprisoned in a tomb. No one knew about the kind of magic we had, but according to him there were several Wicca back in the day. So, maybe the vampires were back and something happened?

Oh well, none of my business... yet. I had other things to worry about at the moment. My apprenticeship for example. As soon as I arrived, I sent a message to a possible Master and was currently waiting for a reply. Hopefully, he didn't care about the fact that I was Dark or about my family. I knew that in Britain I would have had a lot of problems concerning my name and affinity. They were so limited in everything to do with magic. Even France was less strict. They accepted both Dark witches and wizards and Dark creatures because while they might be dangerous, they were still part of the community. They still had magic, so why be prejudiced against someone for something they can't control?

I missed that mentality in Britain. The few weeks a year that I actually came back. The only times I saw my family over the last seven years was during Yule and two weeks during the summer. The rest of the time, I spent traveling the world, looking for both healing rituals and Potions ingredients that couldn't be found anywhere else. I expressed an interest in Potions when I was still young. My godfather was after all the youngest Potions Master in Britain. He taught me a lot about brewing and the process of brewing. It was because of him that I excelled in that subject.

"Here's your food." Matt put a plate in front if me that was practically overflowing with food.

I choked on a laugh "You're telling me that there are people who can eat that much?"

He shrugged "I can."

"Men," I mumbled loud enough for him to hear "Thanks, Matt. What do I owe you?"

"7.50," he calculated. I handed him the money and focussed on my food.

Now that I was already in the US, I'd definitely have to go to the islands in the North of Canada along with Alaska to check for several ice plants and animals. Maybe if I find some, they could he useful for some of the Potions I had been trying to create. They were still too... hot for the lack of a better word. There was something missing, a key element that cooled the whole thing down. There was no known British plant that would do that. Another thing, I had to at least try to get into the Greenhouse I had seen on the grounds were Roselips. They were native to Australia, but if I did it right, there was a chance that they would survive.

When I was full, I drained the last of my water and stood up "I'll see you, Matt. Bye."

"Bye. Hey, could I- maybe get your number?" he stuttered "Just so that you have one contact here?"

I smiled "How about you write your number down for me? My old phone broke conveniently just before I moved. I'll get a new one when I'm in New York."

"Why would you have to go to New York?" he questioned curiously.

"There's something I have to take care of. Anyway, thanks for your help earlier. I appreciate it," I thanked him.

"No problem, Nova. Here's my number," the blond boy smiled.

I threw him another grin and walked out the door, barely avoiding the collision with a tall, black haired man.

"Sorry," I apologized, trying to walk past him and out of the door.

"No worries," he smiled charmingly "I'm Damon."

"Nova. Sorry, but I really have to go now. I have to go see the mayor before going to sleep..."

Damon raised an eyebrow "It's noon."

"And I came in from England today. I think I'm entitled to sleep for a day and a half if I want to," I added with a quirk of my lips "If you'll excuse me now."

"Oh, yes," he threw me another charming grin "I'll see you around, Nova."

"I'm sure you will," I nodded and left.

The visit at the mayor's office took me another two hours. She was of course happy that one of the Founding Families returned to their town, so she was quick to invite me to the next Council that would take place in two days, shortly before the Masquerade Ball was planned at the Lockwood's. I declined politely, telling her that I would be happy to help with the preparations for the ball as soon as I returned from my trip to New York. While Mayor Lockwood... Carol wasn't too happy about it, she understood that I had to take care of several things to help with the move to the US. Of course, I didn't tell her that I had to go to the Magical Congress of the United States of America, but instead told her that I had to finalize some papers that were left there for me by the family that lived in the US before me. No idea if that could actually happen, but she seemed to believe it.

It was two PM local time when I finally got home to find my house completely furnished and my kitchen stocked. Thank Merlin... no, God for house elves. If I had to take care of everything on my own, I'd probably freak.

I quickly changed out of my clothes and crawled into my bed, determined to sleep until the next morning. Hopefully, I could settle into the time difference quickly.


	4. New York, New York

New York was huge. Several times the size of Paris and London. Huge, but amazing.

A few hours before I left, I had gotten the positive reply to my application for the apprenticeship with Master Rayburn. I would have to meet with my new Master in four days, so my visit here was severely limited in time.

It took me one full day to deal with everything that MACUSA threw my way. I had gotten bracelets for my house elves that allowed them to appear human and speak without their usual mistakes. So far everything I had seen from the way Americans run their country it was so much better then everything the British could try. Especially since Fudge was elected to be the Minister. Whoever actually thought that idiot would do a good job was delusional at best.

Today, I decided to do a bit of sightseeing, looking out over the city from the top of the Empire State Building. I also did a boat trip to Ellis Island, seeing the Statue of Liberty up close. As far as I knew from some of the No-Maj History I had in school, the French gifted it to the US after they got their independence from the Commonwealth.

As soon as I was back from that, I decided to do a bit more shopping. While I had the essentials, I wanted to get a few more dresses and some more formal gowns along with a few pairs of shoes. I wasn't the girliest of girls, but I did like to wear dresses and skirts.

On my last day in NYC, I finally visited the magical shopping district. It was just as amazing and flashy as the mundane part of the city. My new love turned out to be the bookstore they had. There was one in every alley they had in the US and in every state was at least one. The one here was gigantic though. A whole eight floors packed with books, DVDs and CDs. They had found a way to work electronics with magic ages ago. Japan had of course been the very first, because... Japan. But the fact that most countries followed suit was kind of nice.

I was walking through the floors, just eyeballing the genres they had for now. I could definitely see myself spending hours and a lot of money here.

In the Potions and Healing sections I browsed through the books with more interest.

"Holy crap," I mumbled to myself, flicking through the pages of a book that you couldn't even get in Knockturn Alley. Blood magic and rituals were like the worst of the worst there. Even though most healers in other countries are a lot more efficient. Some of the things can be cured through some spells labeled as Dark or Black.

"Can I help you?" a young shop clerk questioned politely.

I flinched back slightly in surprise "Oh, sorry. Er, I'm guessing from the stuff in here that blood magic is legal here? I only moved here a few days ago, so I really don't know what I can and can't get."

"You're from Britain?" She raised her eyebrow "And you left willingly?"

I laughed "Yes. It might have something to do with the fact that I hated the magical community in Britain. They are so backwards, it isn't even funny anymore. I went to school in France and travelled a lot during the summers. What I saw was so different."

"I can imagine," she nodded "What are you looking for here?"

"I found a Master who was willing to take me on for Potions and Healing. Do you have any recommendations? I'm really interested in the darker aspect of everything. Plus, all of the Potions that are banned in England."

She whistled in appreciation "That's going to be a lot."

"I know, but I have too much money anyway," I grinned and held out my hand "Nova."

"Melissa," she introduced herself "I can recommend these books for now." Melissa pulled about ten books from each shelf and put them into the basket next to me

I studied the titles and nodded thoughtfully "Thanks. Hey, are there any books about vampires? Particularly traditional vampires without magic?"

She frowned "Why are you interested in them?"

"I moved to Mystic Falls. There are quite a few vampires there," I explained.

Melissa quirked a grin "I heard about that. Supernatural Central. Yes, I think we even have some books about the town. Come, I'll show you."

We spent the next several hours talking and throwing ideas around. I think I almost had an entire library full of books now, but at least I knew that I was going to read every. Single. One.

"Thanks for your help, Melissa," I nodded, putting the basket onto the register.

"No problem. Would you like to stay in contact? You know so much about Potions and that's something I never understood," she mumbled embarrassed.

I scribbled the number of my new phone down "Here you go. I really enjoyed talking to you as well. Maybe we'll see each other again."

"Have a good day," Melissa thanked me, waving me off after I payed for my purchases.

Since it was my last day here, I packed everything I took with me and the new stuff into my trunk and checked out. If I started driving now I'd be back in Mystic Falls by midnight.

Well, midnight passed. I had been stuck in traffic, so it was around two AM when I pulled into the parking space in front of my house.

"Missy," I called when I entered "I'm back."

The little house elf popped in with a huge smile "Mistress Nova be back. How it be?"

I kneeled down, pulling out the bracelets I had gotten "I got these for you and Nobby. They make you appear human to everyone. It's practical, since I live surrounded by No-Maj."

"Thank you, Mistress. I be giving this to Nobby."

I smiled at her "Good. Can you wake me today at 9 AM? I have to go and meet my new Master."

"Missy be having breakfast ready for you," Missy nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Missy. Goodnight."

Before I went to sleep I sent a quick message to Matt.

_'Hey, it's Nova. I'm back in town now. Thanks again for your help.'_


	5. Plan B

I was helping to prepare for the Masquerade Ball at the Lockwood's, when Carol called me over.

"Nova, this is Jenna Sommers. Jenna, Nova Malfoy. She moved here a week ago and revived one of our Founding Families," Carol explained with a smile.

Jenna's eyes widened in surprise "Oh. It's nice to meet you, Nova. That's an interesting name, by the way."

"Nice to meet you too. It's my middle name," I admitted "But my parents thought it was sager for me to switch to that. And I really hate my first name."

"What is it?"

I grimaced "Cassiopeia. My mother's family usually has constellation and star names."

The older woman winced "Yeah, I can understand that." Jenna turned back to Carol "I'm happy to help, Carol. I have always been a sucker for the Masquerade Ball."

"So was Richard," the Mayor smiled sadly "This was always his favorite party of the year."

Matt and another boy walked past us, carrying a table.

"Boys! Be careful with that. It's from the eighteen hundreds," Carol admonished.

I leaned closer to Jenna "I know Matt. Who's the other guy?"

"That's Tyler Lockwood, Carol's son," she whispered back "Hey, I'm cooking dinner tonight. Would you like to come?"

I blinked at her "Why would you want me to come? You don't even know me."

"Do you have any friends here? Except for Matt?" Jenna added when I opened my mouth.

I grinned at her "No. I don't know anyone."

"Then come to the dinner," she urged.

"Okay," I nodded. I went back to helping with the setup for several more hours, before I went home to change.

I put on a short dark blue dress with some black ankle boots.

"Missy, I'm going out. Not sure when I'll be back, but I'll grab dinner," I called, grabbing my keys. I really loved my car. It is amazing. I entered in the address Jenna gave me and started driving there.

I parked at the side of the road and walked up to the door. A brown haired girl my age opened the door, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Er, Jenna invited me for dinner," I told her quietly "I'm Nova."

The girl glowered at me and stepped to the side. I stepped forward hesitatingly and walked past her. I mean, it's good that she doesn't invite people in, I guess? But did she have to be so rude about it?

"Kitchen," the girl mumbled, shouldering past me.

I followed her with a raised eyebrow to see Jenna and a man in the kitchen.

"Where is Jeremy?" the girl asked the man.

He turned slightly, still paying attention to the food "Oh, he went straight up to his room. He said he's not hungry."

"Who's she talking to?" the girl frowned, looking at Jenna who was on the phone with someone.

"I don't know," the man shrugged "Everything go okay today?"

She nodded "There were a few hick ups, but yeah."

Jenna turned towards us "Elena, it's for you." The girl, Elena walked towards the phone, revealing me to the other occupants of the room "Nova! Alaric, this is Nova. She's new in town. Nova, this is my boyfriend, Alaric Saltzman."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at the man shyly.

Suddenly, Jenna grabbed a knife and held it towards her stomach. I frowned, twisting her arm quickly. She dropped the knife, blinking at her hands in confusion.

"What the hell just happened?" I whisper yelled.

Alaric was extremely tense behind me "I have no idea. I think it's best if you leave now."

"Sure," I nodded, squeezing Jenna's shoulder gently. So much for getting some food, but at least I can get back to reading this really interesting book about rare Potions. There were definitely some I had to try out as soon as I got my greenhouse situated. I would have to do that tomorrow after I charmed it to be the same climates as I had in one of my trunks.

Whyever Britain made this stuff illegal, I'll honestly never know. These Potions could help so many people... It might even be possible to cure the effects of the Cruciatus. With a bit more research that is.

This town seemed to be okay so far. I mean, Elena was incredibly rude, but I can forgive that one for now. Jenna and Alaric seemed cool for adults. I wasn't sure who compelled Jenna or if she even know about vampires, but from what I've seen, they kept it from her. Stupid, if I thought about it, but maybe they had good reasons. If I got closer to Jenna, I might tell her something. If.


	6. Masquerade and Rose

Today was finally the day of the Masquerade Ball. It was already two weeks into my apprenticeship now and so far Master Rayburn was amazed at my progress. He often set experimental Potions as assignments, so I really had to study more ingredients and their effects when sliced, diced, grounded and powdered. If that didn't stop soon, I'd have to make an ingredients book… actually that was a pretty amazing idea. I'd have to look into that soon.

Anyway, I was mingling at the party, just chatting with random people from the Council for a while until I felt the overwhelming urge to go outside. When I got out there, I saw Elena in the parking lot. Was that blood? Why was there blood on her shirt?

"Yeah Jeremy, I've got my car," she was saying into her phone "Tell Bonnie that whatever she did, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home. I'm just gonna go straight to bed. Okay." Elena hung up.

A masked man came up behind her, covered her mouth and started dragging her off.

"Hey," I called out, running over to them. Just my luck that I couldn't use magic right now. That man seemed human and I wasn't allowed to use magic around No-Maj. The laws were even stricter than the ones I was used to.

The man turned on me, as soon as he had dealt with Elena. There wasn't much I could do, when he randomly swung a bat at me. Where did he get a bat from? I groaned, falling to the floor dizzily.

When I woke up again, I was lying on a sofa in a huge, darkened room. It was quite dirty here, wasn't it?

"How are the girls?" a female voice questioned from somewhere upstairs.

"Still passed out," a man responded.

The female sighed harshly "You didn't touch the doppelgänger, did you?"

"Give me some credit. So, you called him?"

I looked over at Elena, when she stirred across from me. She was about to open her mouth, when I shook my head, pointing to my ears.

"No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works," the woman said.

The guy groaned "Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?"

"They say he got it," the woman defended herself.

"Wonderful and what?"

Elena got up and walked up the stairs. What was she trying to do? I sincerely doubted that she could get away from two vampires.

"So that's it, Trevor. He either got it or he didn't. We just have to wait," the woman explained.

Trevor apparently didn't quite like that "Look, it's not too late. We can leave it here. We don't have to go through with this."

"I'm sick of running," the female, I still don't know the name of, snapped.

"Yeah?" Trevor spat "Well, running keeps us from dying, Rose."

"Elijah's old school. If he accepts our deal, we're free." There was a squeak and I saw Elena freeze "You! There's nothing around here for miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong. Understand?"

"Who's Elijah?" Elena inquired, ignoring the obvious warning in her voice.

"He's your worst nightmare," Rose deadpanned.

They moved further away from the door and I couldn't hear them anymore. A few minutes later, Trevor – or what I assumed was Trevor – stormed into the room, throwing around books.

"I'm not sure what those books did to you, but have mercy," I teased, looking at his nervous expression "Is this Elijah really that bad?"

"He's worse," the vampire whispered, coming over to me "What's your name?"

I tilted my head slightly "Nova."

"I'm sorry you got caught up in this mess," Trevor told me "It isn't fair to you."

"I was going to get pulled into all of this sooner rather than later anyway," I shrugged "But thanks anyway."

He raised an eyebrow, leaning down to my level "And why is that, sweetheart?"

I smirked "Wouldn't you like to know? Do you have my phone? I really need it, otherwise my… er, instructor is going to kill me."

"What kind of… instructor?" he leered.

"Oh, gross," I grimaced "He's kind of like my teacher."

"Huh," Trevor blinked "Sorry about that." He rummaged in his pockets and pulled out my phone "Here you go."

"Thanks," I grinned, slipping it into my bra. There was no way I was calling my Master, who was a wizard with a vampire nearby.

"Tell me more," Elena demanded, following Rose through the door closer to me and Trevor. Did she ever shut up?

"Captivity has made her pushy, eh?" Trevor snorted "What do you want to know doppelicious?"

"Who were you running from?" Elena questioned.

Trevor rolled his eyes "The Originals."

"Yeah, she said that. What does that mean?"

"Oh, come on," I muttered "Even I know that. The Originals are the first family of vampires. They were changed by a witch."

"And Rose and I pissed them off," Trevor added.

Elena glared at me "You're not a vampire. How do you know about all of that? Who told you?"

"None of your business," I sneered, giving her the patented Malfoy stare that made you feel incredibly stupid for even trying to open your mouth. That's something I had gotten from my father. Really fun.

"Mm-hmm," Rose glared at Trevor.

He grinned sheepishly "Correction, I pissed them off, Rose had my back and for over half a millennium, they wanted us dead."

"What did you do?" Elena pushed again.

"He made the same mistake countless others did. He trusted Katerina Petrova."

Elena's expression changed to exasperation "Katherine."

"The one and only," Rose grimaced "The first Petrova Doppelgänger."

"I helped her escape her fate and now I've, sorry, we've been marked ever since," Trevor explained.

Rose stepped forward firmly "Which is why we're not gonna make the same mistake again."

When they left the room, I threw myself onto the couch I had been on earlier, determined to ignore Elena. Maybe I should practice some Occlumency… strengthening my shield was always a good idea.

"He's here." Trevor ripped me out of my meditation "This was a mistake."

Rose walked over to him "No, I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me."

"No! He wants me dead, Rose!"

"He wants her more." She jabbed her finger in the doppelgänger's direction.

Trevor started pacing back and forth "I can't do this. You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you but I need to get out of here."

"Hey!" Rose called, stepping into his path. She made him look her into the eyes "What are we?"

"We're family," he breathed deeply "Forever."

Someone knocked on the door.

"You're scared," Elena pointed out. Congratulations, you're an insensitive ass.

"Stay here with them," Rose ordered "And don't make a sound." She left to open the door, while Trevor started pacing again. I stared at the door in trepidation. You know, even though I really loved adventures, this was a bit too much for me right now. Why was I still here? I could have left ages ago. Before anyone noticed, but no. Of course, I had to step in to help someone I didn't even like. I really should be more… Malfoy sometimes.

A man arrived. He was good looking, really good looking, but not quite my type. I think. What even is my type? I had some experience with girls, but boys never really crossed my way much before. Happens when you're going to an all girls school.

"Human," the Original whispered, smelling Elena's neck. Weirdo! "It's impossible. Hello there."

I coughed lightly, trying to hide my laughter at the stupid comment "Really? That's really what you're going with."

"And you are?" he raised an eyebrow.

I raised my hands in defence "Just along for the ride. Sorry about the interruption."

"Right," Elijah murmured "We have a long journey ahead of us. We should be going."

Elena turned to Rose "Please, don't let him take me."

"One last piece of business," the Original said, turning to Trevor. Oh, this isn't going to end well…

Trevor swallowed nervously "I've waited so long for this day, Elijah. I'm truly, very sorry."

"Oh no, your apology's not necessary."

"Yes, yes, it is," the younger of the males burst out "You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you."

Elijah nodded slowly "Oh yes, you are the guilty one and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you and that I honour. Where was your loyalty?"

"I beg your forgiveness," Trevor whispered, staring at the floor.

"So granted," Elijah nodded. Trevor smiled, but that faded, when Elijah smacked Trevor's head clean off of his body. Rose cried out in alarm.

I gasped, when I felt the blood on my face "You couldn't have warned me?" I exclaimed, rubbing at the offending liquid "Not even a 'careful blood splatter'?"

"Do you know who I am?" Elijah raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to me.

I laughed in his face. In retrospective not the best thing I ever did "Of course, I do. But I live in the moment. If you want to kill me, go right ahead, but I might be able to help you."

"Are you negotiating with me?" he raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Nope," I shook my head "Just stating a fact."

One corner of his mouth quirked up minutely and then everything went black. Again.

I groaned, when my head almost split open. Head injuries really were a bitch and a half to deal with. I got up from the floor and stumbled up the stairs, trying very hard not to fall down.

Further down the corridor, I heard something hit the floor. I barely even blinked when I was suddenly pressed against the wall behind me.

"Who are you?" the pissed off Original demanded "You're no ordinary human."

My wand slid into my hand. Now that there was only an Original in front of me, I was free to do whatever I wanted to him. I blasted him off silently "My name is Nova and I'd appreciate it if you take your bad mood elsewhere. I had nothing to do with any of this. They kidnapped me together with that bitch of a doppelgänger. I just want to go home and sleep for twenty four hours straight."

"You're a witch," Elijah realized.

I smiled at him secretively and jerked, apparating away with a smirk.


	7. Damon

I woke the next day to someone trying to knock down my front door. Apparently, I had passed out on the sofa and the house elves didn't want to move me.

"Missy?" I mumbled sleepily "Door."

"It's for you, Mistress Nova. He seems enraged," the elf told me in a quiet voice.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I fought to get into a standing position and stumbled off to the front door "What?" I hissed, seeing Damon Salvatore there with a small smirk.

"Now, now, kitten. Redact those claws. Elena told us that you were there." The smirk slid from his face and he actually seemed concerned.

I shrugged "I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. I'm a big girl. And don't fucking call me kitten, asshole."

"I see how it is," he bemoaned "I give you a nickname from the bottom of my heart and you throw it in my face. I'm hurt, Nova. Really, really hurt."

"God, you're such a sap," I laughed "But I'm serious, Damon. I'm fine! I got out of there myself."

He bit his lip and shifted "Can I come in?"

"Sorry, this house is and will stay a vampire free zone for now. But if you want you can go around to the gardens... I'm just gonna change and then I'll be right out. Word of warning. Don't go into the greenhouse. I won't be held responsible if you get poisoned or bitten or bitten and poisoned."

The vampire gaped at me and the wink I threw him, before he flashed off to the huge gardens of the estate. I walked upstairs into my bathroom and shed the clothes I had been wearing since yesterday. I grabbed another one of my dresses, a black one with dark red designs and a navy blue sweatshirt.

"Nobby? Can you make me a..." i was handed a huge mug of black tea "Huh," I laughed "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Nobby grinned excitedly "Does Mistress Nova need anything else?"

"Cookies?" I blinked hopefully "Or cake. Something with a lot of sugar."

"Nobby will take care of it, Mistress. I will be bringing it outside later."

I nodded "But please walk. My guest doesn't know about me and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Yes, Mistress."

I gave her a last smile and walked outside to the waiting vampire, grabbing my phone on the way. My Master had called and texted, telling me that he'd be alright if I didn't come in today and tomorrow as long as I finished an assignment on the effects of too much wormwood on the Draught of the Living Death.

"So, what's in the greenhouse?" Damon called out as soon as I was in earshot.

"Just some plants I need," I shrugged "Herbs and other more dangerous stuff."

Damon frowned "But would that really kill me if I didn't touch it?"

I grinned sadistically "The carnivorous one do. Trust me on that."

"Then I'll have to trust you on that," he shrugged "How did you get back?"

"That, my dear, bloodsucking friend, is none of your business," I told him, yawning.

Damon sighed, running a hand through his hair "Listen, I don't know what you are and it's really none of my business." He paused and blinked at his own words "That's something I never said before and probably never will again. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize. Elena didn't tell me that there was someone else and..."

"Damon," I cut him off "Breath. Like I said, I'm fine and I got home okay. Just... leave me out of the drama that surrounds Elena and we'll all be happy."

"If you're sure," he murmured "I don't necessarily want to involve people who have nothing to do with this. Hey, Carol told me that you're going to be a part of the Council?"

I smirked "Yes. It's something my parents were particular happy about."

"Why?" Damon laughed.

I shrugged "I was raised with wealth, went to a private girls school. While I won't get the Ladyship from my family, I'll always be the heiress. The House of Malfoy is strictly paternal, meaning my younger brother will inherit."

Damon grimaced "I'm glad that I don't have to deal with something like that."

"Lucky one," I snorted "I had to have politics lessons along with manners and shit like that. I'm just glad that my school was pretty informal, so I don't have a stick up my ass."

"Hm," the vampire smiled crookedly "Ooh, cookies."

I turned to see Nobby walking towards us with a tray full of cookies and cakes "Nobby. I said cookies or cake," I pointed out in amusement.

"Sorry, Mistress Nova," the human looking elf said unapologetically.

I threw Damon a look full of mirth "See what attitude I have to deal with? That's just too much for my poor heart."

He coughed and shook his head "I think, I'm going to like you, Mistress Nova."

"Don't call me that, Damon," I hissed "It's bad enough they do, but even though they were with me since I was a baby, they won't call me Nova." Damnit! And now I was pouting as well... Stupid vampires siding with house elves...


	8. Katerina

Ever since Damon visited me the morning after I got kidnapped, he went out of my way to annoy me. He started dragging me to meetings of the Scooby gang whenever he felt like it and I really couldn't do much against it. Damon wouldn't let up, no matter how often Elena showed that she didn't trust me one bit.

At the moment I was slightly trapped at the Salvatore Boarding House with Damon, Stefan and Rose – I hadn't been too pissed with her, considering that she did have a hand in my kidnapping, but she was surprisingly fun to be around.

A while later a knock sounded on the door and Damon went to open it "Hello, Elena."

"Of course," I mouthed to Rose with an eye roll. She grinned at me, understanding where I was coming from.

"Is Stefan here?" Elena muttered "He called. He said it was important."

"Right this way," Damon gestured, directing her to where I was sitting on the couch. The other vampire who had been here a second ago, was nowhere to be seen. I hated when they used their super speed around me. It was so hard to follow…

Damon's younger brother arrived, hugging the doppelgänger tightly "Hey."

"What's this about?" she demanded "And what is she doing here?" Elena glared at me, but that shifted, when Rose re-entered the living room "You."

"Okay," Rose said, trying to calm herself down for the explanation Damon demanded "You have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap. But Klaus, I know he's real."

The doppelgänger tilted her head "Who is he?"

"He's one of the Originals," Damon told her "He's a legend."

"From the first generation of vampires," Stefan added.

Elena blinked "Like Elijah?"

"No," Rose shook her head "Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

I frowned at her heavily "How did you get that idea? I mean, how would you know that Elijah is a foot soldier?"

She shrugged "He's always been Klaus' enforcer. He couldn't possibly be more."

Okay? Damn, now I should decide whether I tell them what I know… But since Elijah's still alive, I think that I should probably keep my mouth shut. Also, I might like Damon, but Elena? Not so much. She already messed up and was apparently too good to ask for my help. Tough luck.

"Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?" Elena groaned.

"Yes," Rose said at the same time as Stefan stated "No."

Damon was sipping at his drink, throwing me an exasperated look "What they're saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true…"

"It is," Rose threw in.

"… And you're not saying it so I don't kill you…" Damon continued.

The older vampire scoffed "Which I'm not."

"… Then we're looking at a solid maybe," the Salvatore finished off. I smirked at them in amusement. What in the world? Why was I even here? I had another assignment which was probably close to exploding right now.

"Look," Stefan threw in "Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that you exist."

"Actually…" I started, before Rose cut me off.

"Not that you know of."

Damon groaned and buried his face in his hands "That's not helping."

Stefan glared "Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story."

"He's real," Rose murmured "And he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot."

Damon laughed "Alright, we're shaking. You made your point."

Elena got up from the couch with a sigh.

"Where are you going?" Stefan inquired.

She shrugged "School. I'm late."

The younger Salvatore got up as well "Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you."

"It's okay," she shook her head "I know where it is." Without another glance backwards, she left Stefan staring after her.

"She's in denial," Damon whispered to me and Rose.

His brother threw him an annoyed look "Shut up, Damon. I'll be back later."

When I was alone with Rose and Damon, I rubbed my forehead "So… Why exactly did you drag me away from home? I mean, not like I necessarily want to be part of your little vampire problems."

Damon raised an eyebrow at me "You know something, Nova. I can see it it your face. You knew more about that subject than you told us."

"So what if I do?" I challenged "While I like you and Rose at least reasonably, I can't stand Elena. Give me one good reason why I should tell you shit."

"Because you love me," Damon smirked.

I laughed "Don't make me lock you into my greenhouse. Trust me, I will. I do not love you, Damon and I never will. Okay, I'll tell you this much. I have a book on the origin of vampires. Both Klaus and Elijah are mentioned in there along with a curse."

"The Sun and Moon curse," Rose realized.

I nodded "Kind of. Look, it's not my place to tell you anything, so sorry. But you're on your own with everything curse related." While America was pretty liberal in interactions with the No-Majs, we still weren't really allowed to bring knowledge over. No matter about what. Some wizards a few centuries ago had studied the curse that had been placed on Klaus. They were very interested in what Wiccas could and couldn't do. I had to agree. The nature witches were incredibly fascinating, but they were so… limited for the lack of a better word. It was so easy for them to overdo themselves and whenever they do, they die. Also, channelling the moon seemed kind of odd and overly difficult.

After a bit more pestering from Damon, he left with a huff. As soon as he was gone, Rose kind of crumpled. I pulled her into a comforting hug "I can guess that you're not alright, but for all that it's worth… At least you didn't have his blood on your face. I can tell you, not all that it's made out to be."

She let out a startled laugh "You're weird, you know that?"

"You can talk," I teased, trying desperately to cheer her up "I'm not the… five hundred year old vampire in the room."

Damon stormed back into the room, making the girl wipe her tears quickly "Alright Rosebud. I need some answers. Oh, please don't tell me you're crying cause your buddy Trevor lost his head."

I blinked at him "Have you ever been this sensitive, Damon?"

"Full vampire switch for this very reason," he stated smugly "Takes the emotion out of it."

"Yeah," Rose mumbled "You switch yours, I'll switch mine."

Damon's smirk was back full force "Is that a dig?"

"Oh, ew," I grimaced "I really have no wish to watch you two flirt. I mean, seriously? I'm going home."

"You're no fun," the Salvatore vampire pouted, but when I didn't let up, he sighed "Fine. I'll take you home. But first…" He turned back to Rose "How do I find Klaus?"

"You don't find Klaus," she confessed "He finds you."

Damon raised his eyebrow "Come one. Somebody's got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?"

"Add another two somebodies to that and you're still not even close," Rose pointed out.

She was waved off "Humour me. You got in tough with Elijah, how did you do it?"

"Through a very low somebody on the totem pole. A guy named Slater in Richmond," the female vamp explained patiently.

"Perfect," Damon grinned "I'll drive."

Rose shook her head harshly "No. You forget not all of us can do sun."

He shrugged "Then you drive. Come on. Nova, wanna join?"

"Not really," I mumbled "But you're not giving me a choice, are you?"

"Nope. Get in the car."

It took us about an hour to reach Richmond and another ten minutes to come to a halt in an underground parking garage of a… coffee shop? Really? Well, vampires weren't what they are supposed to be anymore.

"Back entrance," Damon nodded in approval "How convenient."

Rose rolled her eyes "That's the point. We can't all have little daylight rings."

"How do you know this Slater guy is even here?" Damon questioned, helping me out of the car.

"I called him," she shrugged "He's here. He's always here."

The Salvatore nodded "Good." He pushed her against the wall before I even knew what was going on "Just one thing. If you're setting me up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at."

Rose grabbed him and pushed him against the car next to me. I jumped to the side, cursing "I'm older than you," she hissed "And stronger. Don't get on my bad side. You can trust me." Rose released him, offering me an apologetic look.

We walked through the back entrance and into the main part of the coffee shop. It was kind of nice, cozy. There was a huge window front, lighting up the store.

"Whoa. What about the sunlight?" Damon gaped.

Rose shrugged "Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?"

A man joined us "That and the free Wi-Fi."

The female vampire hugged the guy tightly. That had to be Slater… "Hey, how are you?"

"Good," he remarked "I saw you come, what are you going here?"

"Mmh," Rose hummed "It's a long story, but I want you to meet…"

"Damon Salvatore," Slater cut her off "Turned in 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova. So I take it I was right? What I told you about the tomb under the church was true?"

"Yes," she replied slowly "It was right. Thank you for the tip."

Slater turned to look at Damon "It's nice to meet you, maybe. Who are you though? Human?"

I nodded "Not really my favourite past-time to be in a store full of vampires, but you know? New friends and that kind of bullshit. I'm Nova."

"Hello, Nova," he nodded "What's going on, Rose? Where's Trevor?"

Rose's smile fell and we took our discussion to one of the tables. Damon explained everything that had been going on, while I was bored out of my mind.

"And you're sure that Elijah's dead?" Slater frowned.

"Beyond dead," Damon confirmed.

I snorted "Keep telling yourself that."

Slater tilted his head at me "You know, there's something about you. I can't put my finger on it." His eyes trailed down to my arm, where my sleeve was revealing part of my wand holster "No way."

I smirked and put a finger to my lips. Well, seems like he knew about the Wizarding World. From what I know, some vampires knew, but only because they had some kind of tie to us. Elijah, while recognizing me as a witch, probably didn't think that I wasn't a nature witch. Who knew what the Originals were and weren't aware of.

"So, anyway," Slater cleared his throat "Trevor was a good man. He helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD."

Rose nodded "Slater's been in college since '74."

"When I was turned," the vampire told us "I have 18 degrees, 3 masters and 4 PhDs."

I groaned "Why would you want to do that? I'm doing a double major and am already bored out of my mind sometimes." That wasn't necessarily true, but you know. I couldn't really tell them that I could explode random Potions if I wanted to. My mastery was more or less self-study anyway. While I had a Master, he was pretty laid back and happy to just get a few assignments and test my proficiency once in a while, but that could be because I'm happy to study that stuff on my own without prompting.

"Exactly," Slater gestured "I mean, what is the point? What should I be doing with my eternity? If you have an answer, please enlighten me."

"Create havoc? Mischief?" I offered with a smirk.

Rose reached over to hit the back of my head "We need your help, Slater. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?"

"Craigslist," Slater deadpanned without moving a muscle.

"Really?" Damon scoffed in annoyance.

The other vampire shrugged "Seriously. I responded to a personal ad to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead and that's where my connection ends."

"Here's what I don't get," Damon started "Elijah moved around during the day, which means the Originals knew the secret of the day ring. Now, why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the Sun and the Moon?"

"To keep the werewolves from lifting it," Slater replied as if it were obvious. Oh God, that was so stupid. I mean, it was kind of funny that the documents of the curse were forged. The curse originated a few centuries ago and would make sure that every vampire and every werewolf was on the lookout for the components of the ritual. Quite indigenous really. When did I become this mean? I literally knew what they needed, but I kept it to myself… Oh well, anything to not help Elena "If a vampire breaks the Sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the Moon forever and vice versa."

Rose blinked "But werewolves are extinct."

"True," Slater nodded "I've never seen one, but rumour has it…"

"Not such a rumour," Damon sighed.

The vampire next to me didn't so much as blink "Mystic Falls? God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome."

Damon smirked "Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it. Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Damon leaned forward "If we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?"

Slater shrugged "Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?"

"Tell me how," Damon commanded.

"You think I'm going to help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an Original? And keeping them from walking in the sun?"

Damon was way too arrogant for his own good "You want to walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us."

Suddenly, the windows broke and every vampire in the room except for Damon fell to the floor, burning. I did the first thing, I could think of and threw a shield over Slater, who had grabbed my arm. While Rose was still screaming on the floor, the male vampire grabbed my waist and ran off with me. Now that I think about it, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'running of with somebody'. He only let go of me when we were in an apartment a few blocks from the coffee shop.

"So," I grinned "What now?"

"Now." Slater threw himself onto his sofa "We're going to talk."


	9. Saving Slater

I sat down on the armchair across from Slater "Okay, then. Talk."

"You're a witch," he stated "Not like Wicca, but like witch witch."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" I smirked in amusement.

He tilted his head "You're British right? What is your last name?"

"Wait," I sat up in shock "The only reason why you could know about this… Are you a squib, Slater?"

The vampire nodded lightly "My mother was a squib and my dad a British pureblood who was thrown out of his family for helping his nephew."

I opened my mouth, blinking a few times "You mean to tell me that Alphard Black was your father?"

Slater tilted his head "You know my father then?"

"He's, erm… He's my great uncle. I don't think I ever met him, but yeah… My mom was a Black," I explained quietly, looking at Slater closely. Now that he said it, I could definitely see some of the Black characteristics in him. His cheekbones and eyes were like my Cousin Sirius'. I had seen several picture of him from when he was still in school. The only thing that didn't match was his hair, it was a bit too light, but that was everything "Let me introduce myself properly. Cassiopeia Nova Malfoy, at your service."

"Oh, wow," he gasped "That means we're related… I never thought that I would every meet anyone of my family. Not after dad died." I got up from the chair and settled down next to my… first cousin once removed. One thing I hated about purebloods was that everyone was related, no matter how distant. That's literally the only reason why I was good with naming relations "Why are you even here? In the US, I mean?"

"I knew you would ask that question," I groaned and buried my face in my hands "Okay, what do you know about the Dark Lord?"

Slater turned sideways, settling himself against the arm of the couch more comfortably "Not too much, actually. Just the basics. He killed a lot of non-magicals and is very obsessed with blood purity. Is he the reason why you're here? What happened?"

"My father, Lucius Malfoy, he's… well, during the First Wizarding War, he joined the Dark Lord's ranks. He hadn't really thought of his future family when he did that, so now… The Dark Lord is back, has been since last June, so my father wanted me safe. I think his master demanded that I was to be marked and yeah… that's why I'm here. And I have found a place to learn more about Potions and Healing."

He got noticeably more angry the longer the explanation took "So you're in hiding here?"

I nodded "I try to tell myself to live in the moment, but… I'm scared. I know that I can't hide forever. One day soon, he'll find me and then I'll be either forced into his services or I'm going to die. I just… I don't know what to do."

Slater took one look at my watery eyes and drew me into a hug "I'm coming back to Mystic Falls with you," he decided "There's no way, I'm letting you out of my sight."

I laughed and hugged him back "Well, my Manor is big enough, so you're welcome to stay. I have some books about the Black Family and whatever else you're interested in." My voice lowered into a conspiratorial "There might also be a book about the History of Vampires and the Originals."

"Where did you get that?" he demanded, eyes lighting up curiously.

I smirked "The Wizarding World looked into a lot of things. Some of those were No-Maj vampires and werewolves, the Sun and Moon curse and some other, not too interesting things."

"Yep, I'm so coming home with you, Cassie."

"Cassie?" I blinked, looking up at my cousin.

Slater grinned "I don't want to call you Nova, so Cassie it is." We were interrupted by a knock on the door "Who is that? No one comes here."

When he was about to get up, I stopped him with a frown "You have no idea?" He shook his head with a frown "Slater, Elijah is alive. Please be careful."

"I will be. Wait here," he murmured, walking across to the door to open it "Elijah… What a surprise. I thought you were dead."

A smooth, compelling voice was the answer "You will let me and my friend inside."

"Come in," Slater told them, moving aside.

Elijah strode in with another man at his heels "Well, well, well," he murmured "If it isn't the little witch."

"Hello, Elijah," I greeted the Original quietly "I didn't appreciate you strangling me, by the way. Nor do I appreciate it if you were going to kill my cousin."

Slater moved over to my side protectively "What do you want with me."

"You will deliver a message for me. To your dear friend Rose," Elijah squinted.

"Why would I do that?"

The Original moved faster than I could see and ripped me away from Slater "Because you don't want to be responsible for your family dying."

I leaned my head back into Elijah's chest, grimacing at his grip "Do it. It'll help us in the long run."

"Fine," my cousin sighed "What am I supposed to tell her?" The following phone call was short, but very convincing. I was impressed by his acting skills. I if I didn't know any better, I would have actually believed him.

"Very nicely done," the Original complimented, letting go of me. I stumbled to the couch, massaging my throat gently.

Slater looked a bit put out "Thanks, I have a degree in theatre. How can you compel me? A vampire can't compel other vampires."

"I'm a special vampire," the second oldest Mikaelson told him.

"What, because you're an Original?" Was the answer he got.

He hummed in agreement, handing Slater a stake "Now I want you to drive this…"

I shot up "No! Wait!" When I had their attention, I took a deep breath "You want to deliver a message to Rose and the doppelgänger, right? You know that they will come here sooner or later."

"So…"

"So, I can make it seem like Slater is dead. No one will be any wiser… But I need you to get your witch out of here," I grimaced.

"Warlock," the Wicca corrected.

I rolled my eyes "Wicca," I spat "I have no love for your kind."

"Jonas." Elijah held up his hand "Leave us." The Wicca stared at the old vampire for a second, before he grudgingly did what Elijah asked.

"Now that he's gone," I mumbled "I need you to promise me that you won't tell any Wicca of what you see."

He raised an eyebrow at me "You have my word," he vowed, sounding almost bored.

"Thank you. Slater, get me some water, a glass bowl and coal if you have some. Bring a knife as well," I ordered, pulling some chalk, paper and a potion out of my pocket. I knelt down, drawing a large circle onto the floor. I added a mix of runes to it. When Slater returned, I carefully placed the bowl in the middle, adding the coal and the Potion into it "Okay. Elijah, I need you to stand back. Slater, stand next to me. Once I tell you to, cut your hand with the knife and let exactly ten drops fall into the bowl. It has to be ten, understood?"

"What are you doing?" My cousin tilted his head, studying the design on the floor with interest.

I smiled secretively "You'll see. Ready?" I waited his nod, before I started chanting the long, complicated spell. Why I knew that one, I still didn't know, but hey! It came in handy, didn't it? When it was time to add the blood, I stopped for a second "Add your blood." I continued to chant. As soon as the tenth drop hit the coal, the room lit up and a body formed inside the circle. The light died down as soon as my chant ended and viola. One Golem that looked like a carbon copy of Slater "There you go. I only need to do one more thing… Piertotum Locomotor." The Golem Slater stood up from the floor and looked at me questioningly "Give me the stake." I held my hand out for the piece of wood that the Original was still holding. He gave it to me silently, observing my actions closely. To the Golem I said "You will take this and drive it through your heart." Commanded and done, the Golem was 'dead' and Slater was still alive. I slumped, rubbing my forehead tiredly "Scourgify." The floor looked as good as new and the bowl cleared of its content.

There were a few beats of silence, before the real Slater whistled in awe "Holy –"

I smirked "I know. God, I'm tired…"

"Let me drive you home," Elijah offered, coming out of his frozen state "It seems like my work here is done. I would like an explanation as soon as you are rested."

"I can do that," I agreed "Tomorrow at the Malfoy Manor. I won't let you in yet – I hope you understand – but we can speak in the garden. I might even show you the greenhouse as proof of my story."


	10. Talking Magic

"Cassie," Slater's voice ripped me from my dreamless sleep "Cassie, wake up! Elijah's here."

I groaned, mumbled something unrecognisable under my breath and pulled my blanket over my head.

My cousin laughed at me, pulling away the blanket in one fluid motion "Up you get. You don't want to keep the big bad Original waiting for too long, do you?"

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. Just before I was going to go to bed, the timer of one of my Potions went off, so I spent most of the night in my lab. I had gotten maybe two hours of sleep at most "I'll be right there," I muttered, walking to my closet.

"I'll be outside." Within one blink, he was gone from my room. Bastard had even taken my blanket along with him…

"I'm sorry that you had to wait," I apologized when I joined the two men twenty minutes later "I trust you have questions?"

Elijah nodded "That spell you did yesterday. I never saw anything like it…" he started, beating around the bush.

I rolled my eyes at him "I'm a witch, Elijah. That was what you wanted to know, right? Not a Wicca, but a wand wielding…"

"Broom flying," Slater threw in.

"Broom flying witch," I laughed "To tell you the truth, I'm a little surprised that you never heard of my kind before, but that just proves that we're better at hiding than I thought."

The Original frowned, looking to be deep in thought "May I ask how you know who I am? You seem to have known from the beginning."

"Huh. I was expecting a lot, but not that question," I admitted "There's a book about the Origin of your kind of vampires. It's pretty interesting and you and your siblings are in there along with the story with your mother. I'm not sure how the author got all of that information, but I know that it is accurate."

"I would like to read that book, if you are agreeable to it?" he murmured.

I nodded "Hold on! Missy," I called out. The House elf popped in next to me, making Slater jump. Apparently she had forgotten to put on the bracelet. Both she and Nobby told me that they were uncomfortable, so I usually only insisted on it when I had guests. Oops?

"What is that?" Slater blinked rapidly, looking at Missy with a look of morbid fascination "Oh, that's a House elf, right? My father told me about them, but we never had one when I was younger."

"Missy, can you bring me the 'Origin of Vampires' from the library, please?" I told my former nanny elf, keeping an eye on Elijah. He was surprisingly stoic, but I'm sure that I could change that during this visit. Hell, I'm betting on it, actually, since his mouth was open the tiniest bit. Not enough to make fun of him, sadly. Anyway…

Missy nodded, her ears flabbing slightly "Yes, Mistress Nova." She popped out, returning within a minute with the book clutched in her hand "Here you goes."

"Thank you, Missy. I will call you if I need anything else," I grinned "Here you go. I want that back, though. Slater wanted to read it as well… Actually, you know what? Keep it. I'm just getting a new one when I'm going to Charlottesville tomorrow. Speaking of which." I turned to my cousin, looking at him questioningly "What would you say to a bit of a change in appearance? If you're staying here, we might as well make sure that no one recognises you. Plus, your name is a bit conspicuous as well."

Slater tilted his head "I think I'd like that. But I'm not sure about the name…"

"Black tradition," I smirked "If I have to put up with a name like Cassiopeia then you're going to get a traditional name as well."

"And I suspect you have some in mind already?" he sighed in defeat.

I raised a hand in a 'who me?' gesture that was ruined by my grin "Kidding. Yes, actually. There are a few, so you can choose the one you like most. I won't go into the older ones from our family, since I'm sure you wouldn't like to be called Arcturus or something as ridiculous as that. How about Apollo, Leo, Aries, Hunter or we might as well go with two names that were used by some of our ancestors, Pollux or Orion."

Before Slater could answer, Elijah cleared his throat "To get back on the subject… If you could please explain how your kind differs from – what did you call them – Wicca?"

I turned to face the Original "That's pretty easy. Wicca are slaves of nature. They are bound by nature's rules and they can over exert themselves pretty quickly. My kind has its own magical core. The magic is running through my veins. I can do so much more than they can, but I'm not going into that with you yet. I hope you understand."

"Of course." His lips quirked slightly "What was that creature? I believe Slater called it a… House elf?"

"Ah," I grinned fondly "House elves serve Wizarding families. They are magical creatures who are immensely devoted to the one designated as their master. In my case, it's Missy whom you just met and Nobby. They help me with the house and cooking and stuff like that. Also, they are incredibly powerful, even though they might not look like it."

"Curious," the old vampire murmured.

I shrugged and glanced between the men "So… I mentioned my greenhouse… Do you want to see?"

Slater's eyes lit up "Didn't you say that you were working on your Potions apprenticeship?"

"Exactly," I bounced "Trust me, you'll love it. Just, maybe, don't touch anything. There are a few dangerous plants in there that could kill you."

Elijah cocked his head "How can a plant kill someone without them eating it?"

"You'll see," I told him, leading towards the huge glass structure several yards from the path. It had really taken a lot of time to separate the different climates that the plants needed to grow accordingly "If I have the time, I might even get some magical creatures or something soon. At the moment I'm fully invested in this though. There are some plants that usually only grow in one specific region of the world like the Sahara or the Arctic. Over there in the colder section I have ice roses and several other species of cold plants. In the drier part, there are… Yeah, come on. I can show you that plant. It's harmless…ish." I walked towards the Roselips I had brought in from Australia a few years ago. They weren't dangerous or anything, but they were prone to leaving behind hickeys on whatever skin they could catch. It was funny to see a plant suck on someone's neck "Here you go. They are called Roselips, their native region is Australia and they tend to only grow if it's warm enough." To my surprise the Original was the first one to be caught by one of the flowers. His face was absolutely hilarious. I coughed back a snort, before I started laughing "Sorry," I gasped "I should have warned you that it would do that."

When the plant was back on the table, Slater was laughing as well "You know you have a hickey now, right?"

Elijah glared at me without heat and shook his head "Why am I even trying? You remind me of my brother, Kol. He would have done the exact same thing."

I laughed again "Maybe I'll meet him some day."

"God help us all," Elijah joked slightly. It was good to see that he had relaxed a bit. He deserved a break from what he was going through. From what I understand, he might have helped his brother, Niklaus to dagger their siblings, but he missed his family either way. It was what he thought best to protect them and I could respect that. Family was the most important thing and I was going crazy, not knowing what was going on in Britain, but at least I had Slater now.


	11. Of Magical Alleys and Makeovers

The day after we met Elijah, I took Slater into the Wizarding Alley that was in Charlottesville. We left Mystic Falls at eight in the morning, taking my Tesla – after Slater had drooled over it for a bit.

"Where to first?" he asked, looking around the dozens of shops that were squeezed next to each other. It looked similar to Diagon Alley, but with higher and bigger stores. Here they were both several stories high and magically expanded.

"Gringotts, I'd say. Get your name legally changed," I murmured, pointing to a white marble building at the end of the line of shops. For some reason the bank seemed to be in the exact same spot in every alley that I visited "Then we can go into the shops you want to see and later we'll get you to your appointment at the university."

Slater grinned at me "I really owe you for the daylight ring, Cassie. It's amazing to feel the sun again."

I shrugged "It's not a problem. We aren't as prejudiced as the Wiccas, at least not around here." I grabbed his arm and weaved through all the people towards the huge entrance doors to the Wizarding bank.

_'Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there.'_

Slater murmured the words as he read them "Bloodthirsty little things, aren't they?"

I snorted at the guard's affronted expression and hurriedly bowed to him "I apologize, Master Goblin. It is my cousin's first time around your race and I have forgotten to warn him. May your enemies' blood coat the gold you reap."

The goblin's leathery scowl eased and he bowed back gracefully "May your gold flow and your deals forever be lucrative."

"What was that?" Slater hissed into my ear as soon as the doors closed behind us.

I smiled wryly "Goblins are very proud of who they are. Clever as they come, but not the most friendly of beasts. You really don't want to mess with them… At all. They are excellent warriors and their history with wizards isn't the best. Wizards are very arrogant, they tried to take control, enslave the goblin race." I threw him a smirk as we walked over to one of the empty counters "There's a reason no one is stupid enough to break into Gringotts. Trust me, if you want a safe place for your money then you better put it with the goblins."

"Name?" the goblin barked, his eyes full of mirth at my earlier words.

"Heiress Cassiopeia Malfoy. I am here to accept my cousin into the family and open a vault for him," I nodded politely.

The goblin looked at me critically "I need a drop of your blood before I'll bring you to Goblin Axetooth."

I held out my hand, looking at Slater questioningly. He nodded "I'll be fine." After he confirmed it, I quickly cut into my thumb and dropped some blood on the parchment the goblin had held out.

"Welcome to Gringotts, Heiress Malfoy. May your vaults overflow and your enemies flee before you."

"May your gold flow like a river and your enemies cower before you," I returned politely. I must be the only one of my family who had ever learned the proper customs of goblin greetings. Everyone else was just incredibly rude and arrogant concerning the creatures that held literally all the money of the Wizarding World in their halls. That fact alone should give them a higher standing than they have. But that was only my opinion and I was one of few who thought like that.

Our business was over within the next hour and Slater walked out of Gringotts, named Hunter Orion Black or Ori as I had decided I would call him from now on.

"So," I grinned "Where would you like to go to now?"

"Bookshop." Was his immediate reply.

I shook my head "Sorry, Ori, but both the bookshop and the Apothecary will be last. I know I will spend a few hours in each of those shops. How about the Menagerie first and then we'll go to some of the stationary shops? I'd like to get a new telescope along with a few cauldrons and knives."

Hunter shrugged "Fine with me."

It took us several hours until about to get to the Apothecary. Hunter went nuts in the bookshop and I had to eventually drag him away with the promise to let him owl order books whenever he wanted or needed some more. We had also bought a hawk and a Kneazle. Don't ask me why Hunter wanted a cat, but if that was the way he wanted to go… it was fine with me. I wasn't never allowed to own one at home, so I really didn't mind.

Before we entered the Apothecary though, I pulled Hunter into a magical hairdresser and tattoo artist's shop. While his name had changed, he still looked like the Slater that Damon and Rose knew. I didn't necessarily want to take his looks from him, but he agreed to the change. An hour later, we walked out again. Slater had completely changed into Hunter now. His hair was black like most of the Black family had, while his eyes were now a silver grey. They would stay like this as well, even without re-dyeing. Also, magical contacts. Those things were basically invisible. You never had to change them and they adjust to your vision perfectly. I couldn't even imagine not living with magic. Sure, many people got too lazy, but I swear, magic was simply… magical. There was no other words to describe what we could do with a bit of leeway. There were barely any restrictions on what was possible and what wasn't.

"What do you need in here?" Hunter mumbled from behind his jacket sleeve. Upon entering the Apothecary, he immediately slapped a hand in front of his nose. Even I had to admit that the smell was anything but nice, but for a vampire it had to be like a hundred times worse. I quickly put an air-purifying charm on my cousin and watched as he took several gulps of the fresh air "Thank you. I never thought it could smell that badly."

I grinned crookedly "Well, look around and you won't be wondering anymore. They sell a lot of body parts and intestines here." I let him wander around the shop while I grabbed several ingredients I was running low on. Those were mostly the non-plant ingredients like dragon livers, spleen and several other creature parts, I needed.

"Cassie?" Hunter called out from behind me "What's that?"

I blinked at the ingredient in question "Ashwinder Egg. They can be used for Love Potions – all of which are usually illegal – and a potion called Felix Felicis. If you swallow them whole they could for example cure malaria."

He frowned, tilting his head "What is that Potion you just mentioned? Felix something?"

"Felix Felicis also known as 'Liquid Luck'. It's a Potion that makes the drinker lucky for a period of time during which everything they attempt will succeed. There are several side effects and Felix Felicis has been banned from all organised competitions. It's not worth the trouble if you ask me. I can brew it, but it takes like six months to make and really, there are better things you could do with your time."

A raspy chuckle made us whirl around "Truer words have never been spoken," an old man behind the counter answered "You are very knowledgeable, dear."

I shrugged "I suppose. Potions was one of my best subjects in school and my godfather taught me a lot when I was younger."

"If I hadn't heard you talk just now, I would call bullshit," the old man smiled "Hogwarts students are usually on a beginner level when it comes to everything."

"Then it's good I didn't go there," I replied "I went to Beauxbatons. My godfather teaches Potions at Hogwarts though. I must admit that he isn't the fairest teacher from what I heard, but he knows his stuff."

"Indeed," the man agreed, ringing up my purchases "My name is Armando by the way. Will I be seeing you more often."

I laughed "Most likely," I nodded "I moved into the area recently and am currently working on my mastery in Potions and Healing. I go through a lot of ingredients daily."

"And yet I only see animal parts in your purchase," Armando pointed out.

I shrugged lightly "I have my own greenhouse with plants from all over the world. I took a lot of care that they would survive and be able to live in the climate they need."

Armando whistled in appreciation "Then I know who to ask for things to sell," he joked.

"Dream on, old man."

"Oh, gross," Hunter grimaced, staring at the Beetle Eyes on the shelf "Can we go now, Cas? I don't like it in here."

I had to hide a smile and nodded at him "It was nice to meet you, Armando. I'll see you around."

We loaded everything into my car and drove in the direction of the university. Hunter had chosen to do a Law degree this time. He had mostly focused on the smaller things before, but there were several things he still wanted to do. Amongst those were Medicine, Law and Teaching. Not really my cup of tea, but at least I could help him with the Medical degree. Even though I could use magic, you still had to practically learn everything that No-Maj students had to know as well. My Master was working in a hospital that educated in both ways, so there was a lot to know and learn in that area. While I mostly focused on Potions, I had a more than solid understanding on most of the other stuff already. If I was lucky, I might be finished with the masteries in a year, faster than anyone could have hoped, but the Master didn't want me to waste his time. He knew that I already knew a lot, so he adjusted the level accordingly instead of holding me back.


	12. Crying Wolf

I strode into the Lockwood Mansion with Hunter's arm around my shoulders. We immediately honed in on the Original who was standing by the Mayor's side, sipping his tea.

"Who is the woman?" Hunter whispered, nodding at Carol.

I raised an eyebrow "That, my dear cousin is Mayor Lockwood. She took over for her husband a while ago."

"Right," he nodded "That incident with the Tomb vampires?"

"Exactly," I smiled "Hello Carol, Elijah. It's good to see you again."

Carol tilted her head in surprise "You know each other?"

"We have had the pleasure," Elijah smiled, bowing his head in greeting "I didn't think I would see your cousin here, Miss Nova."

I grinned "Well, Hunter has a bit of a knack for everything to do with parties and history. Plus, I get an escort out of this whole thing. I do so hate to have to walk in alone."

"Hey," Hunter exclaimed, pinching my side playfully "I see how it is. I'm only a means to an end."

"I thought you knew that," I teased, before turning back to the mayor and Elijah "Oh, right. Carol that's my cousin Hunter Black. Ori, Carol Lockwood."

She smiled brightly "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Black. I didn't know you had family joining you, Nova?"

"Sorry, Carol. It was kind of last minute," I grinned apologetically.

"That's alright," the mayor placated before she lowered her voice slightly "That's why we hold so many parties. It's a way to meet the people who usually aren't around too often."

I snorted and rolled my eyes "It's not my fault that I'm busy... Anyway. What are you going here, Elijah? I wasn't aware that you stayed?"

"I'm..."

"Mr. Smith is working on a book," Carol explained "Speaking off. Have you spent much time in Richmond? There's such a wealth of history there."

"No," Elijah denied causing Hunter to snort quietly. The Original glowered, before his pokerface was back "I'm focusing mostly on the smaller regions of Virginia. Lots of research. Strictly academic."

Carol nodded sounding at least somewhat interested "That's fascinating."

I felt Hunter stiffen next to me before I noticed Damon coming up to where we're standing.

"Damon," Carol greeted happily.

Damon nodded back "Carol."

"What a surprise," she beamed. Wow. She seemed rather happy to see him. They exchanged kisses to the cheek, before Carol nodded to us "Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families along with Nova's. Damon, Elijah Smith, Nova Malfoy and her cousin Hunter Black."

"Hm-mh," Damon hummed, narrowing his eyes on the older vampire "Such a pleasure to meet you."

"No," Elijah smiled ferally "The pleasure is all mine."

I rolled my eyes "Men. Can't you just say hello like everybody else?"

Hunter chuckled at their annoyed look "Cassie, you really have to control that mouth of yours."

I shrugged "I told you before. I live in the moment. The only time I make an effort to censor myself is around my father and his... associates. They have anger issues."

"May I talk to you in private?" Damon asked Elijah.

The Original gestured for him to lead the way, throwing me a long look over his shoulder. I smiled and put a finger to my lips and pointed at my ears. He nodded and walked into a study with the younger vampire.

"What was that?" Hunter whispered, when I pulled him closer.

"Sh," I mumbled, concentrating on the listening spell I had placed on Elijah a few minutes ago "I'm listening in on them."

"Eavesdropper," Hunter accused teasingly.

I jabbed a finger into his chest "As if you're not going to listen in."

"True," he shrugged and went quiet.

Inside the room, I heard Elijah sigh in annoyance "Why don't you just stay focused on keeping Elena safe and leave the rest to me." There was the sound of running that was cut off by another.

"Not good enough," Damon sneered. I barely kept from facepalming and instead groaned under my breath.

A body hit a wall and I had the guess that that would be Damon. There was no way it could be the other way around "You young vampires, so arrogant. How dare you come in here and challenge me?"

"You can't kill me, man. It's not part of the deal," the older Salvatore groaned.

"Silence," Elijah spat. I opened the door to see Damon with a pencil in his neck.

I leaned against the doorway with a small frown "Elijah," I scolded playfully "Why are you making a mess in a house that doesn't belong to you? How very... improper of you."

"Cas," Hunter laughed "Don't criticize one of the oldest vampires in history. I feel like your keeper."

"Says the guy who messed with goblins," I bantered.

Damon looked at me with an open mouth, pressing a handkerchief against his neck tightly "You... I thought and..."

"Listen, Damon. You're choosing the wrong people to mess with. Heck, you're choosing the wrong people to be friends with. I'm sorry, but I should leave now."

"Nova." Elijah's voice stopped me in my tracks "I'm getting a tour of the properties tomorrow. Will you and Hunter be there?"

I exchanged a glance with Hunter who shrugged "Sure. Why not. I'll see you then, Elijah. Damon."

On our way out, I linked my arm with my cousin's and leaned my head against his shoulder lightly. I had always been somewhat affectionate, but my parents were... well, not very physical with me or Draco. At school we were often cuddling or just messing around for the hell of it. Hell, we were encouraged to mess around and it was actually quite fun. At least no one could get anyone else pregnant, so that's a concern that no teacher had to have. Plus, Veela. Need I say more?

"That was intense," Hunter breathed when we were back at my Manor... Mansion, whatever.

"It wasn't too bad," I mumbled, throwing myself onto one of the couches "Missy, do you have something to eat?"

The little House elf popped in "Yes, Miss. Master Orion?"

"I'm okay, thank you." The two elves had taken to call him Orion. Apparently it was more of a traditional Black name and it wouldn't be proper of them to call him Hunter. Don't get me wrong. I loved those two to bits, but the whole Mistress/Miss thing could get on your nerves. I don't get off on feeling superior like so many other purebloods out there. They practically strived for the little creatures to fear them. Either that or they were against 'slavery'.

It was ridiculous either way. Honestly, I couldn't thank my parents enough that they kept me out of the public's eye and decided to send me to Beauxbatons. Not many people outside the pureblood circles knew that Draco had an older sister.

That reminds me. I haven't heard from my parents since I arrived here. I hope they were alright. If anything happened to them because of me... I would never forgive myself in that case. Maybe I should send a letter with Missy? But I was told that the Dark Lord wanted to move into Malfoy Manor. Should I dare it? Yes, I think I should. Family was worth the trouble I could get myself into.


	13. The Dinner Party

The next day, Hunter and I got ready for the tour of the historical sights of Mystic Falls. Elijah had texted me yesterday to tell me that he'd pick us up at noon, so I still had a bit of time to do some research. I was currently trying to get the Cure for werewolf bite, but it was easier said than done. There were several key ingredients missing and I just couldn't figure them out. It was annoying the shit out of me, but what can you do? My uncle Sev had spent years of his life dedicated to this Potion and even he couldn't figure it out… I had hopes though. One day, I would be able to cure lycanthropy. That was also the reason I had a meeting with Master Rayburn at three o'clock. As soon as he had found out what I wanted to try, he wanted to see my research and how far I had gotten already.

"Cas? Elijah is here," Hunter called through the door to my lab.

I startled out of my thoughts and looked at the clock I had on one of the walls. It was noon? I had actually been in here for hours and I didn't even notice. Well, at least no one could tell me that I wasn't passionate about what I did.

"Hello, Elijah," I murmured, pulling my hair back into a high ponytail.

"Nova," he nodded "Are you ready?"

I nodded lightly "I'm not quite sure why you wanted us to come along, but yes."

"I imagine that Hunter would be interested in some of the history of this place. He might even know most of it already, am I right?"

Hunter smirked "Well, I always did want to come here. Vampires, werewolves, witches, doppelgänger. This town has it all."

"Indeed," the Original agreed, opening the passenger door for me.

"Thank you," I smiled, sliding into the seat quickly. While I wasn't too used to cars, the fact that I started driving around a lot helped. At least they were more comfortable than the Knight Bus. Way more comfortable… If there was one magical transportation that I absolutely hated then it was that stupid bus. Honestly, even the Floo was less annoying than being thrown around inside of a triple-decker.

Two hours later I was bored out of my mind. The only reason I wasn't asleep on my feet yet was because I had seen and examined several species of plants that I never knew were native here. The men were mostly ignoring me in favour of listening to Jenna. Not that I minded. Jenna was an awesome woman and from what I found out, she didn't have any idea about what was going on. Let's just say I didn't approve.

"The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence," Jenna said, pointing towards a fence a few feet away from where we were standing.

Elijah snorted softly "Ah, the Fells. One of the Founding Families." His voice held more than a hint of mockery.

Jenna tilted her head in curiosity "Why do you say it like that?"

"My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. It was a migration of townsfolk from the Northeast, um, it was Salem, to be precise," the older vampire explained.

"Massachusetts?" Jenna frowned "As in the witch trials?"

Elijah nodded with a small smirk "Which means the ever-lauded founding families… didn't actually found anything."

"Well, I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860," Jenna laughed "Men are very territorial." Behind her another man walked up to us, a forced smile on his face. Wasn't he… Alaric or something like that? Jenna's boyfriend?

"They are," I agreed, nodding towards the man.

Jenna groaned under her breath "Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman. Ric, you know Nova and her cousin Hunter, don't you?"

"Yeah," Alaric nodded, still staring at the Original "I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines. I though I would tag along. You know being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

Elijah cut in before the red haired woman could open her mouth "I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history."

"Well, I only brought the surveys," Jenna realized "I got that list in the car. Just give me a sec."

I looked at my watch and made a small noise in the back of my throat. Two forty five. Just enough time for me to apparate home and floo to Master Rayburn's house "Er, listen. I have to go, but I'll see you later." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed my cousin's cheek "Call me if there's anything you need, Ori." I darted in to hug Elijah quickly, before I sprinted off into the forest. As soon as I was out of sight, I apparated home.

I quickly gathered all of the papers I'd need and stuffed them into a bag before running to the fireplace.

"Rayburn's Magical Apothecary," I called out, vanishing in a whirl of green fire. On the other end, I landed gracefully, dusting myself off.

"Ah, Ms. Malfoy," Master Rayburn greeted with a smile "I'm glad that you could spare some time."

I shrugged "I'm aware that I normally wouldn't get as much freedom as I do with you, Master. I appreciate you taking me on and allowing me to continue my own research throughout the apprenticeship."

"No need to thank me, young one," he waved me off "You're one of the most promising student I ever had. Like I told you before, you will probably be able to finish within the year. The other Masters are excited to meet you as well."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise "They are?"

Master Rayburn blushed lightly "I may have gotten a bit carried away in bragging about your skills. Now they want to meet the talented young lady who got the 'old grouch' to be excited once more."

"Old grouch? I can see where they're coming from," I teased "No, but seriously. I'd be honoured. My life has changed so much within the last several months and I couldn't be happier about it."

"I'm sure," the old man nodded, sitting down in an armchair "Please, sit down. How is your research going?"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair "Not too good, but I think I'm getting somewhat closer. There are still ingredients that I'm missing, but I know I can do it. Sooner or later."

"Normally I'd say this Potion is way above the level of an apprentice, but since you learned under Potions Master Snape, who is one of the youngest Potions Masters out there, I have faith. Show me what you have?" I handed him the stacks of paper – yes, not parchment, paper – and waited quietly until he finished reading through my neat script "You're right. There are several components missing, but I honestly wouldn't know what. You could try anchoring the Potion with aconite, but it would react with several of the other ingredients."

"That's what I thought," I frowned "I got a bit of a reaction from the infected rats I tested it on, but not enough to be helpful."

Master Rayburn hummed "You wrote here that the gene mutated slightly?"

"Yes, but I'm not a hundred percent sure what it would do to a werewolf. The rats seemed to handle it fine, I'm just not certain what it does to humans."

"Very well," my Master nodded, lost in thoughts "How about the Healing side of your apprenticeship?"

"I'm getting way better with the blood spells and everything," I explained "It also helps that I can practice on my cousin. No matter how badly I injure him as long as I don't stake him, he's going to be fine."

"Your cousin is a vampire? A traditional vampire?"

I grinned sheepishly "Yes. The thing is, Mystic Falls is crawling with the supernatural. They have vampires and even werewolves. Although the werewolves that are around aren't like the ones we know. They apparently inherit a gene and as soon as they kill someone their transformation starts."

"I heard about them," Master Rayburn mused "Never met one though. What is their reaction to aconite?"

I blinked "It's toxic to them, I think. They get burned. It's a similar reaction vampires get with vervain."

"One day, you will be able to write a book about all of the stuff you learned while living in that town of yours," he chuckled merrily "You even know more about some things than me. Now, off you go. It's already getting late."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll contact you again when the other Masters want to meet," he told me, shaking my hand firmly.

I smiled "I'm looking forward to it, Master Rayburn. Have a nice evening."

"You too, Ms. Malfoy. Take care of yourself."

"I will." I grabbed a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. With a mumbled address, I was off again. Back in my living room, Hunter was pacing up and down, running his hands through his now dishevelled hair "Ori? What's wrong?"

"Cas?" he questioned in relief "You're back."

"Yes. What's going on?"

Hunter pulled me towards one of the sofas "After you left, I was invited to a dinner party with Elijah as the guest of honour. The thing is… Damon had a dagger that… Well, it puts Originals to sleep."

"Wait, you're telling me that those idiots pissed off an Original? The Original who wanted to help them keep the doppelgänger alive? How stupid are they?" I couldn't believe what he was telling me. Especially since Damon was apparently involved. I really liked him before, but it seemed like I was wrong.

"Any idea what we could do?" Hunter asked.

I shook my head and relaxed back onto the couch with my head in my cousin's lap "No, not really. We'll think of something though."

"We better. It's only a matter of time before Klaus comes to town," Hunter sighed, playing with my hair. I hummed tiredly, my eyes drifting shut slowly.


	14. House Guest

"We need a plan, Ori," I argued when he once again proposed to simply walk in and take Elijah's body from the Boarding House "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we can't go in half-cocked."

Hunter looked at me in surprise "I can't believe you said that either," he shook his head "But Cas… It's been a week and a half already."

I groaned "I know. Listen, I have an idea, but there's something I have to research first. Two hours, yeah?"

"What is the plan?"

"I need to find the spell to hide my scent," I explained "If I have that, I can sneak in and get Elijah out. Since I'm not a vampire, I don't have to be invited in."

Hunter grinned "Genius. I'll wait for you out front then. Help you get him back to the house."

"You don't have to. I'll just use a portkey," I smirked "Then they wouldn't have your scent nearby and Elijah's would have simply vanished."

"Even better," my cousin murmured "Okay, then. I'll wait here while you go get our friend."

Plan made, I immediately immersed myself in the library. I had seen the spell before, but finding it again in a library of over… six hundred books. Gee, it didn't even seem as too much, since I still had a big amount of empty shelves. Around the time Hunter came to live with me, we completely redecorated the library. We put in a new system with the magical books on the higher level and all of the non-magical books on the lower one. About three quarters of the book were magical, so the upstairs was filled more than the non-magical part, but even that was filling up fast.

Finally after two hours, I finally found the book I was looking for. As soon as I saw the spell, I groaned. How did I forget that? It was one of the easier spells I could do… Oh well, at least I knew it would work now.

"Got it," I announced, running back down the stairs into the living room "I'll head out now. Give me… hm, let's say twenty minutes. I'm apparating into the woods and then it should only be a few minutes."

Hunter stopped me with a hand on my shoulder "You'll be careful, won't you?"

"I'm always careful," I snorted "No, but seriously. This is nothing. The idiots aren't even aware of what I am, so it'll be a walk in the park."

"You say that now," he warned.

I rolled my eyes with a sigh and apparated off. Seriously, he was worse than my father most of the time. Ever since he found out that he was my cousin he was incredibly protective of me. It was nice, but annoying. I could take care of myself after all. Outside the Boarding House, still far enough that no one could pick up on my presence, I immediately cast the spells on myself and made a portkey out of a tissue I had in my pocket.

Silenced and scentless, I crept into the house, listening for anyone around. There was no one around at the moment, so that was all the better for me "Point me Elijah." My wand rotated on my open palm, pointing me in the direction of the basement. I followed the wand and soon found the Original behind a heavy metal door "Well, don't you look bad," I murmured, kneeling down next to the sleeping vampire. His skin was grey and full of veins. All in all, he looked dead. Really, really dead.

I contemplated whether to pull the dagger out now or later, but the decision was taken out of my hands when a door slammed on the main level. I pressed the tissue down on Elijah's chest quickly "Portus." Within seconds we were whisked away and deposited in a heap on the floor of my living room.

"Cas!" Hunter called in relief. I dropped the spells and hauled myself off from the floor, dusting off the dirt from the cellar "Wow, he looks like crap, doesn't he?"

I coughed in amusement "That's what I thought as well. Do me a favour and pull out the dagger. I'm going to take a shower."

"Sure," Hunter groaned "Leave me alone to wake up a possibly homicidal Original."

"You're such a baby, Ori. Fine, then wait until I'm back." I walked up the stairs to my room, not really caring which option Hunter would take. If he decided to wait until I got back, I would pull out that stupid dagger myself. After I stepped out of the shower, I searched my closet for something comfortable. I didn't feel like wearing a dress now, so I chose a large grey wool sweater and a pair of black sweatpants.

"Cassie," my cousin called up the stairs panicked "Cas. There's something wrong."

"What?" I shouted, running to the living room as fast as I could. What I saw let me freeze. Elijah was convulsing on the floor in pain. What the hell? Oh, oh crap "Elijah, you're invited in." The words passed my lips and the Original relaxed, taking deep breaths "Sorry about that. I completely forgot that I never invited you in. I should have remembered that it would be a problem."

"It is alright," Elijah rasped, still on the floor "How am I here? How long have I been daggered?"

I grimaced "Well, I just got you from the Salvatores. You have been their… house guest for about a week and a half. Sorry it took so long by the way."

"Seriously, just stop apologizing." The Original sat up, taking the blood bag Hunter handed to him "It's not your fault that I got too careless. I never thought they would get a dagger."

Hunter sat down on the couch "The said something about Katherine giving it to them."

"Katerina, of course," Elijah muttered "I should have killed her when I had the chance. She is probably gone by now."

I coughed "I wouldn't be too sure about that. She's probably with Damon and Stefan, messing around while playing her part as Elena."

"That sounds like something she would do," the older vampire agreed "Hey, is there somewhere I can clean up? I'm still feeling a bit… dead."

I smiled gently "Yeah, sure. Hunter, show Elijah to one of the guest rooms and ask Missy for some clothes. I'm going to go to my lab for a bit, if you need me."

"Thank you, Nova, Hunter. I appreciate your help… Just one more question. What about the Martin witches?"

A glance to Hunter revealed that he didn't have a clue and I wasn't sure I… "Wait a minute. I think their both dead." A few days ago I had heard Bonnie arguing with Stefan at the Grill "I swear, the idiots should be more careful about where they talk about committing murder. Luka apparently went to look for you in spirit and died when Damon tried to set fire to you or something, while Katherine and Stefan killed Jonas when he came after the doppelgänger."

"That's unfortunate," Elijah sighed "I appear to be out of witches."

I raised an eyebrow "I feel like you're hinting at something. Look, I will help you if I think that your intentions are good. I don't care about Elena or any of the others except for Jenna and to a certain extend Jeremy. Just… Go and clean up now."

"Yes, my lady," he bowed with a small smirk, walking off with Hunter.


	15. Jenna

Hunter and I were chasing each other through the garden, just having mindless fun, while Elijah was watching with a smile. I wasn't sure how it started, but I might have dumped water on my cousin, so he started chasing me. Yeah, that might have been the reason… Maybe.

"Mistress?" Nobby called from the porch.

I stopped in my tracks, falling to the floor when Hunter ran me over "Ouch."

"Sorry, Cas," Hunter apologized, hauling me to my feet "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Ori," I smiled "What is it, Nobby?"

The House elf shifted "You is having a guest, Mistress. She is in the entrance hall."

"I'll take care of it. Thank you, Nobby." I exchanged a puzzled look with Elijah and turned to Hunter "Anyone an idea of who it is?"

"Should we?" Elijah raised an eyebrow "How about you check?"

I stuck out my tongue "Thank you, Captain Obvious. I would have never thought of that."

"You're very welcome," he smiled.

"Urgh," I groaned, stalking back into the house. Men! Why was I even trying? Hell, what was I trying? Living with Hunter was bad enough sometimes, but living with both Elijah and Hunter, I wasn't sure if I could survive. It didn't take me long to reach the entrance hall and I could already hear the nervous pacing as soon as I was halfway through the living room "Jenna?"

The older woman looked up, tears streaking down her face "Nova. Can I… Can I stay here for a bit? I could really use a friend."

My lips came up in a comforting smile and I gestured for her to follow "You look like you could use a drink. Follow me." I led the way through the living room and into the kitchen that doubled as a bar area. The men were usually in there during the evenings, that's why I was sure that we had a ton of different liquor, both magical and non-magical "Whiskey or rum?" I questioned holding up a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bottle of Bacardi respectively.

She shrugged "Whiskey."

I grabbed a tumbler from behind the bar and poured a generous amount of Whiskey into it, sliding it towards her "So, wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"I just…" Jenna sighed, knocking back the Whiskey in one large gulp "They lied to me. They all lied to me."

"So you finally found out?" I questioned, pouring in another bit into the empty glass.

Jenna blinked at me "Wait, what?"

I tilted my head "Okay… You tell me what you're talking about and I let you in on what's happening in the town. Deal?"

"Deal," she agreed immediately "Isobel just showed up. Alaric's dead wife and Elena's birth mother."

"Huh. That's fucked," I snorted, pouring myself some Whiskey as well.

Jenna nodded "Tell me about it. Wait, aren't you too young to drink?"

I froze with the glass halfway to my mouth "Actually, since I'm British, I can drink. I'm seventeen, so I'm off age. Might not work in bars, but here? No one cares." I sipped the liquid "Okay, so for my story… It's a bit longer than that, do you mind if someone joins us?"

"Someone…?" she questioned.

"My cousin and Elijah. They have a bit of a part in this as well. Plus, they might know more than I do," I told her with a small shrug.

The older woman looked at me for a few seconds "Sure. The more the merrier, right?"

"I'll be right back," I promised, making my way back out to the gardens.

"Cas?" Hunter called as soon as he saw me "Who was it?"

"Jenna Sommers. It seems like Isobel Saltzman turned up on her doorstep. I promised I'd tell her about what's happening. If Klaus is coming, which he most likely is, then she has to be informed. I'm not comfortable to leave her in the dark. Thought you might like in on the discussion," I explained "You know some parts better than I do."

Elijah stepped forward "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Not really," I shrugged "But can you honestly tell me that Jenna won't get targeted for who she is to the doppelgänger? She has to know."

"I think Cas is right," Hunter spoke up quietly "I mean, it's kind of their fault that she is ignorant about everything, but if she dies? She doesn't deserve that."

The Original ran a hand through his hair "You're right. You're right. Since the deal I made with Elena is void, she is completely unprotected."

"There's still the Salvatore brothers," I reminded, walking us back to the kitchen.

Elijah choked out a laugh "I wouldn't trust those two to walk my dog, much less protect someone. I offered my help to keep everyone who the doppelgänger cares about safe and they daggered me. You can't get much more stupid than that."

"True," I shrugged "Jenna. I'm back."

The strawberry blonde woman turned on the bar stool and stood up nervously "Hello Elijah, Hunter."

"Jenna," the two men greeted together.

I sighed when no one said anything for a few minutes "Really? I have to do everything, don't I? You know, just for that. I'm busting out the Firewhiskey. Word of warning: take small sips. It's, erm, burn-y." I grabbed the bottle of the fire red liquid and poured small amounts into four glasses "Here you go." Another beat of silence later and I sighed again "Okay, where to start. Jenna, this is going to sound slightly… okay, fucking crazy, but please hear us out?"

"You're scaring me," Jenna mumbled, looking up at me in worry.

"Well, you try telling someone vampires exist and we'll talk again," I snarked, not even trying to tell her gently.

Hunter snorted into his glass "Smooth, Cassie. Real smooth."

I threw up my hands in exasperation "Well, you do it then. I have next to no patience for stuff like that. Especially not since I always thought that it was stupid to keep things from her."

"What did you just say?" Jenna interrupted out squabble loudly.

"Vampires exist, Jenna," I repeated "Along with witches, werewolves and a whole bunch of other creatures. That's how Isobel is still here. She was turned into a vampire years ago."

"You're crazy," the woman spat defensively, getting up to leave. Hunter sped in front of her and tilted his head "Okay, not so crazy. Fuck, and Elena knows?"

I shrugged "Her boy-toys and the Forbes girl are vampires, so I'd say so. Listen. I know it's hard to believe, but they kept it from you to protect you… I think. Technically you'd have been safer if you'd know, but you know? Thought counts, right?"

"And where does Elijah fit in?"

The Original, who had been staring at his glass with a weirded out expression, looked up at the sound of his name "I'm a vampire as well. One of the first actually."

"Wow. This is… this is huge," Jenna groaned, burying her head in her hands with a small sob. I walked over to her, pulling the woman into my arms gently "How do you fit into this?"

"I'm a witch," I admitted "Not Bonnie's kind of witch, but a real wand-waving, Potions brewing, broom flying kind of witch."

Jenna leaned her head against my shoulder with a hysterical laugh "And to think that my biggest problem was my thesis."

I shrugged "The world is always bigger than you think. We can – erm, we can talk about this some more after you rest a bit, if you want?"

"That would be good," she sighed "Do you mind me staying here? I can stay on campus…"

"Don't worry about it," I waved off "Plenty of room here. Hunter will show you to a room and to the library. You're a psychology student, right? There might be some books for that thesis of yours in there. Plus, I'm sure Hunter has a psychology degree as well."

"Thanks, Nova. For everything," Jenna smiled, following my cousin out of the room.

Elijah hummed a few moments later "That went better than I expected."

"So it did," I agreed "Okay, I'm going back to my experimental Potion before I'm drunk enough to blow up the house. Call Missy or Nobby if you need anything."

He waved me off "Yes, yes. I'm aware."

"Sorry. I forgot you've been staying with us for a few days already," I shrugged sheepishly "I'll see you."


	16. Klaus

It was about a month after Jenna had started staying with us and the next full moon was approaching fast. She kind of remembered that she not only left Elena on her own devices, but Jeremy as well, so the older woman went back to the house. I couldn't blame her either. Hunter was getting on my nerves all week already. Oh, Nova you forgot to eat. Drinking isn't healthy for you. I swear… It was like he wanted to get me out of the house. It didn't take long for me to actually leave.

His insistence might have had something to do with the fact that he had a visitor in form of the older doppelgänger. Katherine had showed up at the Grill when Hunter had been there and they hit it off… or something like that. Needless to say, I thought more about silencing every bedroom in the house in the last two weeks that I did the entire time I lived there. Seriously. There are some things you just don't want to hear. Ever.

"You doing okay, Jenna?" I asked her, leaning back against the kitchen counter in her house.

"Yeah," she nodded "I think so, but I'm still annoyed that they never told me about all this shit. And now Stefan told me to stay in and away from Ric. What's going on?"

A knock on the door caught our attention. Jenna stood up and walked over "It's just Ric," she mumbled, falling back onto the chair. Alaric stepped into the kitchen behind her, carrying a weird vibe. And not even his usual vibe of weirdness, but rather weird weird. Curious. Maybe that was why Jenna was supposed to stay away.

"Jenna, do you have that thing we were talking about earlier?" I asked her, getting the attention of the not-Alaric.

She looked at me weirdly "I think so, why?"

"Can you get me some?"

"Can't you get it yourself?" she mumbled in annoyance.

I shook my head at her with fake exasperation "Do I look like I know where you keep that? It's not like I've been in your bed before." I blinked at my own comment "Okay, that came out wrong."

Jenna started laughing hysterically and backed out of the room "You know, I would be mad that you implied something like that in front of my boyfriend. Thankfully for everyone involved I know that that's not Ric."

"What are you talking about?" he tried to waved off.

"Seriously? I'm not stupid… Klaus and neither is Jenna," I guessed and from the look on his face, I was actually right "Wait, you actually are? Wow. Guess Elijah left out body swaps when he told us about you."

Klaus' expression turned sour "You know Elijah."

I nodded "I know a lot about what's going on and I really don't like the current doppelgänger. The other one is surprisingly fun to be around."

"But you're human," Klaus gestured.

"That depends on your definition of human, but let's just agree that I'm very breakable and you won't try to kill me," I smiled charmingly "No, just kidding. Elijah wants to talk to you though."

Klaus leaned back, a knife in his hand now "Last time I checked, he still wanted to kill me."

I rolled my eyes "That changed when he started dealing with the current doppelgänger and the Salvatore brothers. He's not very fond of them. Not after they daggered him."

"They daggered my brother?" Klaus hissed dangerously "I'm the only one who gets to dagger my siblings."

I clapped "You're angry for the wrong reasons, but at least you care for your brother. Congratulations. You have earned my help."

"But you're human," he gestured, sounding really amused now.

"I'm certainly no vampire and not a werewolf either. Plus, I really hate Wicca, but what I am on the other hand, is a witch. A real one," I told him without showing my nervousness on my face. The big bad Hybrid was only a few inches away from me and I have offered my help. Not that I regretted it, but it was a bit unnerving. I'd do anything to help their family get back together, not only because my own seemed to be falling apart slowly because of the Dark Lord. Elijah – for a vampire – was actually decent. Sure, he has killed and killed without mercy, but really? Humans weren't much better and it was in a vampire's nature to kill.

Klaus tilted his head in surprise "You mean you're a natural witch?"

"You've heard of us?"

He nodded "My younger brother Kol had dealings with your kind before and he told me a bit. I wasn't aware that Elijah knew about your kind though."

"He didn't," I shrugged "I told him a bit, but not everything. I'm an aspiring Potions Master and Healer with an interest in blood magic. If you have information about the real curse, I might be able to improve something. I won't promise, but I can try."

"Maybe… Maybe it's time to call my brother now?" Klaus stuttered, blinking down at me.

I pulled out my phone as Jenna came back into the room and saw a text message pop up "Okay, we're getting a visitor in form of the younger Salvatore. Jenna, act oblivious and you… just do whatever. I'm going to text your brother."

"Hey, Jenna," Stefan breathed a sigh of relief "Thank you so much for not going to the Grill."

"Um, Stefan…" Jenna spoke up.

Stefan walked in and saw me "No, listen. I can explain."

The older woman rolled her eyes and stared over the young vampire's shoulder. He turned around to see not-Alaric there with a knife in his hand "Hi, Stefan. How's it going?" He was chopping some sandwich toppings with the huge ass knife he had in his hand earlier as well "You know, I find chopping… calming. The feel of the blade in the hand, maybe."

' **Your brother is weird.** ' I texted Elijah.

' **I could have told you that. What is he doing now?** '

My lips twitched ' **He has this huge knife in his hand (in Alaric's body – mind) and is talking about how chopping is calming.** '

"I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the hell is going on," Jenna bitched, her hands on her hips. She was a good actress.

' **That does sound like my little brother** ' I could just imagine his exasperated sigh ' **You're with Jenna then? I can understand your need to get out of the house. Will you bring Niklaus back with you or should we meet somewhere else?** '

Klaus smirked at the woman in front of him. Well, at least he's having fun… I guess "Well, would you like to tell her, Stefan, or should I?"

"Tell me what?" Jenna groaned "Nova. Help?"

"Little busy, Jenna. Give me a second," I stalled, typing a message into my phone rapidly ' **I'm bringing him along. Tell Missy and Nobby to make some tea or something. Oh, and make sure that Hunter and Katherine are aware of Klaus coming over. Might even be able to help with her… Original problem.** '

"Do you believe in vampires, Jenna? No?" Niklaus teased with Stefan almost freaking out next to him "Well, who does, right? But believe it or not, they do have a place in our history. And as a history teacher, I find them fascinating."

I groaned, when the Salvatore did nothing at all "Stupefy," I breathed, waving my hand in his direction "Okay, enough. You had your fun now." To Jenna I added "I have a feeling they don't care about you one bit. You know, you could just grab Jeremy and come over? I'm silencing the house anyway. Hunter is getting it on with Katherine and I really don't want to hear."

"Hold on," Klaus cut in "Not only is Elijah with you, but Katerina as well? And my brother hasn't killed the doppelgänger yet?"

I shook my head "He might not have been happy, but they sat down and talked about it."

"Then if Elijah has forgiven her, I believe I can as well." Alaric kicked the unconscious vampire on the floor curiously "What did you do to him?"

"Stunned him," I shrugged "He'll wake up in a bit. We'll talk at mine, so come on. Car's outside. You don't need an invitation in this body, do you?"

Klaus shook his head "No, I don't."

"Okay," I nodded "Then let's go. Jenna, how about you stay here for now and talk to Jeremy. I'll come over after this mess is over."

The older woman grinned "Sure thing. I didn't find what you told me to look for by the way. Hope you don't mind."

I snorted "I don't believe you, but okay. Tell Stefan he fainted. Since you 'don't know' about vampires, he has to believe you."

"Yes, ma'am," Jenna saluted with the worst British accent I have ever heard.

"Don't do that. Please, I beg you never to do that again," I mumbled, pulling at Alaric's arm "Let's go, before she decides to butcher my accent some more."

I heard Jenna's chuckling and once I was out the front door, I finally noticed Klaus' more than amused expression "You might not be that bad, little witch. This could actually be fun."

"Why thank you," I rolled my eyes at him "Always glad to have someone take me seriously."

"What do you expect?" Klaus raised an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth, before I closed it again "Touché."


	17. Homesick

"I'm back," I called out, walking into my house with Niklaus following behind "Missy, get Hunter and Kat, won't you?"

"Yes, Mistress," Missy nodded, popping off.

I looked at Klaus over my shoulder "That was a House elf, by the way. Don't mind them though. They're harmless until you piss them off." I waved him through to the living room "Hello, 'Lijah. Drink?"

"No, thank you, Nova," Elijah smiled, before he turned to his younger brother "Niklaus."

"Brother," Klaus greeted carefully "I'm surprised you're not trying to kill me. Actually, I'm surprised you forgave Katerina."

"She made a good argument," Elijah shrugged.

I was about to open my mouth when Hunter and Katherine tumbled into the room, giggling like little girls.

"Zdravei, Katerina," the younger Original smirked at the vampire doppelgänger.

The vampire in question squeaked in surprise and dove behind me "Klaus," she mumbled, using me as a shield between her and the not-Hybrid-yet.

"You do know that he said if Elijah can forgive you, so can he," I pointed out, annoyed at her rough handling "Listen, you're here because of Hunter and we decided to help them. Plus, I kind of prefer you to Elena, so you know that I'll keep you safe if I can."

Kat preened from my praise "Why thank you," she grinned, ruffling my hair.

"Before I'm going to leave you two." I pointed at Klaus and Elijah "To talk, we're going to talk about that curse of yours real quick. If you give me what you have or know, then I can look it over."

"Let her, Niklaus," Elijah urged "She does know what she is talking about when it comes to anything magical."

I cleared my throat in embarrassment "One more thing. You're a natural Hybrid, right? Werewolf and vampire in one body… I'm currently trying to find a cure for lycanthropy. Would you – perhaps – give me some blood once the ritual is done?"

Niklaus raised an eyebrow at me "Cure what?"

"Oh, the other kind of werewolf. The ones that are mostly around in Wizarding World. They get infected by bite and in Britain there's like this huge stereotype against them. Most of the werewolves are kept away from 'normal' people and they have troubles finding and keeping jobs. It's ridiculous, especially since they are human for the majority of the time anyway."

He smiled lightly at my rant "You feel strongly about this. I can appreciate that."

"In England, where I grew up – if the accent didn't give it away already – there's a monster who made it his life's mission to bite young kids. He basically condemns them to a life of misery… Don't get me wrong. I'm not prejudiced or anything, but I absolutely abhor Fenrir."

"And Fenrir is the name of the wolf?"

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair in agitation "Fenrir Greyback. He is a follower of the current Dark Lord… the one my parents follow as well. They never told me about the others, but when you're going to school in a country that isn't afraid of its own history, then you find out things."

"If you help me then I will give you my blood for your little experiments," Niklaus vowed, an air of seriousness to his voice.

I smiled happily "Thank you. I'll leave you to talk now. If you need anything I'm out in the Greenhouse. Elijah knows how to get the drinks. Please don't destroy my house?"

The older Mikaelson, who was already used to my behaviour, rolled his eyes "Go."

"Fine, fine," I huffed "I see how it is." With a teasing wink, I strolled out of the room and through the glass doors into the garden.

I walked down to me Greenhouse, sighing as soon as the door closed behind me. Don't get me wrong, I loved my cousin and was starting to see Elijah as an older brother, but sometimes it was just exhausting. For some reason I always hid my true feelings from them… I didn't want to, but it was just something I had always dealt with on my own. I missed my parents, my baby brother and all of the friends I couldn't contact at the moment. No, that was wrong. I could probably contact them, but I was afraid to make them more of a target.

Then and there, I decided to go back to England soon. Not to stay, but I needed to check up on my own family. My life be damned. They were so much more important to me.

I tended to my plants absentmindedly, my thoughts still on the situation in Britain. There's no way the Dark Lord was so interested in me that he's come after me now, is he? I mean, why would he go after me anyway? I didn't have a skill set he needed and I never would torture or kill someone for fun.

A knock on the door startled me out of my contemplative state. Elijah was leaning against the glass outside, waiting for me to come out.

I rubbed at my eyes tiredly and was startled to feel tears on my cheeks. When did I start crying? "What's up?" I questioned, wiping away the tears inconspicuously.

The Original looked up at me and did a double take "Are you alright?"

I nodded with a weak smile "Sure. What did you need?"

"I just wanted to tell you that Niklaus thought about staying here once he is in his own body. Only until the curse is broken, if that's okay with you." The vampire didn't look like he believed me, but evidently decided to not press matters just yet.

"If that's what he wants," I shrugged "Excuse me, I want to be alone." With that I left Elijah standing on the path towards the house, while I walked past Klaus and Hunter all the way to my room.

Thinking about my family hit me harder than I though. It was different from being at school, since I saw them more often. During every holiday and I wrote them twice a week, depending on what was going on in that week. Here, I was almost completely isolated from the world I grew up in and I didn't even know whether they were alive or not.


	18. Libertio Hereditatem

Drowning. I was drowning in stupid books about every ritual in existence. Seriously, I was wondering why I ever agreed to help with this annoying curse.

Oh, right. Because Nik has already been living with only half of his natural inheritance for… over a thousand years. I never said anything to him, but I felt sympathy. During the last full moon, I had seen him pacing in front of the window, always staring outside at the big round globe in the dark sky.

_Flashback_

_Niklaus had given me the details he had about the curse a day after I took him to talk to Elijah. It was a mess. Honestly, who could do something like that to anyone? That wasn't a ritual, it was an abomination._

" _And your mother came up with that?" I questioned incredulously._

_Niklaus nodded and sat down across from the sofa I was occupying "Yes. Is there something you can do?"_

_I considered it for a moment. The chances were pretty high that a ritual like this existed somewhere, but I had to find it first "Maybe. Probably. But I need a few weeks, if that's okay with you."_

" _I want the curse broken at the next full moon," he replied._

_I gaped at him "That's in two days. There's no way I can find something that quickly." I paused with a sigh and ran a hand through my hair "Listen, I don't know how you feel, but please. Give me a chance. If I can't find anything by the time of the full moon next month, I'll let you do this abomination of a ritual."_

" _Abomination?"_

" _Yes. It's only Wiccas who are this bloodthirsty in their ways. Honestly, you have to sacrifice three people and even then you'll loose your chance to make other hybrids," I shook my head in disgust._

_Niklaus' head snapped up to me "What do you mean?"_

_I frowned "You didn't know? According to this, you'll need the blood of a doppelgänger to make werepires. It's not even too well hidden. The wording is pretty clear."_

_He only growled, getting up agitated "You have until next month. Betray me and I don't care what Elijah feels. I will kill you."_

" _Oh, really?" I waved my wand and threw him into a wall on the other side of the room "Don't think you can win against me. You might not be able to die without white oak, but that doesn't mean that I don't know way to torture you within an inch of your life." I grinned at him maliciously "If anything it's way more fun if you can't die."_

_Silence filled the room, before the Original started laughing "Good answer, little witch. I think I'll like having you around."_

" _Huh," I harrumphed "'Lijah seems to think that I'm way too much like… what was it?… Kol?"_

" _Now that you say it, you do remind me of my little brother somewhat," Niklaus snorted "He was a warlock in his human years and is quite psychotic when he puts his mind to something."_

_I raised a hand to my chest "Are you calling me psychotic?"_

" _You did just threaten to torture my younger brother, Nova," Elijah's voice sounded from behind me._

_I turned to shrug at him "He deserved it," I pouted "Okay, I might be a tiny bit psychotic, but you would be too if you live in a country like England. So many prejudices." I shuddered and bunched the papers detailing the curse together "Anyway, I'll go through my library now. See you whenever."_

_Flashback End_

Another dead end. The promise to look into rituals had been three weeks ago now and I only had another eight days left. I was near despair, because I. Couldn't. Find. Anything.

"Cas, you have to eat," Hunter called, when he entered the huge library. It had also filled up a bit in the last weeks, because I had gotten several more books. Some even in the tongue of the Goblins. If anyone knew anything about binding rituals then it was the Goblins.

I took another book, leaving through it "Can't right now. I'll be down later. Maybe," I replied absentmindedly.

"You haven't eaten for three days now. This isn't health –" My cousin was cut of by the sound of victory that escaped my throat. Finally! After hundreds of books, I finally had something that could work.

I grabbed the book in question and hurried out of the door and past a startled Hunter. Inside the living room, I found the two brothers, conversing with Kat, Jenna and Jeremy. I wasn't even sure when they had decided to live here, but it must have been a week or two ago. Really, my house was filling up quite fast. Not that I minded. At least I wasn't alone with vampires… That was getting old pretty fast. I drew the line at Wiccas though. I didn't even allow Nik's little helpers inside the house. Hehe. Niklaus' little helpers. Anyone reminded of Santa's little helpers? God, I really needed some sleep. I was talking nonsense…

"I think I found something," I proclaimed, waving the heavy tomb in the air.

In under a second, Nik was by my side and was looking at the page I had open "What's it saying? I can't read it." There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

"It's Gobbledegook." I only received five uncomprehending expressions "Goblin language," I clarified "From what I've seen this should work. The ritual itself is in Gobbledegook, but the Potion that is needed, I don't know. It's not too big of a problem though. As soon as I get some sleep, I'll call my Master and ask him. If all fails, there's still Gringotts, I can go to. They might not be too happy about a witch asking about Goblin rituals, but they're always pleasantly surprised once one of us makes the effort to learn their language."

"What is this ritual and how is it different from the previous one?" Katherine questioned, leaning against Hunter as soon as he sat down next to her. Those two were almost inseparable. The only times Kat left was to mess with the Salvatore brothers and the Scooby Gang. It was almost too easy from what I heard.

I rubbed my eyes and hid a yawn behind my hand "Erm, well… For one it doesn't require any sacrifices. It's also Neutral instead of Dark. Oh, right. You don't know about the classifications of magic, do you? To make a long story short, there are five classifications. Light, Light-Neutral, Neutral, Dark-Neural and Dark. Most of the different kinds of magic have a general classification, but in some countries they can vary. In Britain, almost everything is in the Dark category. Blood Magic, Necromancy – the art of raising the dead and talking to them – and even most of the XXXXX creatures are categorized as Dark. XXXXX creatures are known Wizard killers and are 'impossible to train and domesticate'. For example, there are werewolves, dragons and vampires in that category. Only in Britain though. Other countries think more liberal. While the British Ministry of Magic has declared everything Dark as illegal, the US for example only bans few things. Using hexes, curses or jinxes for the wrong purpose, harming people intentionally, things like those." I blinked at the lesson I just gave them "Back to the ritual though, it would be classified as Dark, but only because it's illegal to lock away a part of someone. There were cases of people hiding someone's magical inheritance from them and this ritual reverses it. It's painful, I won't lie. From what I can tell, it's excruciating, but worth it. The Potion though, I really never heard of."

Jeremy tilted his head "Did you say vampires and werewolves were categorized as creatures in Britain?"

"Yep. They don't see them as human-ish. Werewolves are monsters, because they are 'uncultured beasts' and killers. It's ridiculous. Just because they have a bit of a furry problem, they are completely isolated socially," I groaned. Great! I started ranting again. It was bad enough that I basically told Nik the exact same thing a few weeks back "Before I start going on and on, I'm going to bed."

Hunter took that moment to speed in front of me "Not so fast. You're going to eat first."

I rolled my eyes "I'm not hungry and now move. I'm exhausted."

"I'm not letting you go to bed before you ate something." He crossed his arms and glared at me reproachfully.

"Oh for the –" I apparated into my room, leaving them standing – or sitting in some cases – in the living room. With a sigh, I waved my wand, changing into an oversized shirt and fell into the bed. I curled up under the covers and fell into a deep sleep. Research was tiring. Especially in cases like this, where you have no idea where to start looking and you had a time limit. At least now I had an idea of what to do. I only had to find out about this damn Potion.

When I woke up, I stumbled down the stairs still dressed in only the shirt and underwear. I never went out of my room dressed in anything but normal clothes, but I couldn't be bothered today.

"Look who's finally awake," Jenna joked, before her face turned worried "You've been asleep for a day and a half. Are you okay?"

I smiled at her "I'm fine." I curled up on one of the bar stools and nibbled on a piece of dry bread. Not eating right for several weeks made my appetite practically vanish. Not even the others had managed to force me to eat. It was just not the way I worked. Whenever I had something on my mind, I put everything into the background. Two of these things were usually eating and sleeping. It wasn't very healthy, but a habit I had picked up early on.

As soon as I had forced down the slice of bread and a Nutrient Potion, I pulled out my phone. The others had joined us by now, after all it was around dinner time.

"Are you going to call…" Nik trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.

"Master Rayburn? Yeah," I nodded "I hope he know about it. If not, he might know someone who does." I excused myself and went outside for the duration of the conversation.

" _Hello?_ "

"Master Rayburn," I greeted respectfully "It's Nova."

There was the sound of shuffling on the other side " _Ah, the little Malfoy. What can I do for you?"_

I cleared my throat "A friend of mine has a bit of a problem and I found the name of a Potion I needed for him. Have you ever heard of the 'Liberatio Hereditatem' Potion?"

" _Hm,_ " he hummed, deep in thoughts " _I think I have a book it's mentioned in. It was hand written by a Goblin several centuries ago. What exactly is this friend's problem?_ "

"If you can't figure out with the name of the Potion, I'm not going to tell you. It's his business anyway. Can you copy the recipe? I really need it. If not I'll have to go to Gringotts tomorrow and I'd rather not explain myself to the Goblins…"

Master Rayburn laughed " _Self-preservation. A good trait to have. I can copy the page and send it to you via owl, if you don't mind. You're in luck. I don't think you'd have another choice if I wasn't a good acquaintance of the Goblin nation._ "

The tension left my shoulder and I sagged against the glass of the window in relief "You have no idea how much that means to me and to my friend. Thank you so much."

" _I do expect an essay on the ritual and how it worked though._ " The response made me grin. There was rarely a time where my Master told me I couldn't do something. He only wants to see what I came up with and how I dealt with the obstacles that came with it. It was amazing to have this much freedom and to be able to research to my heart's content.

"Always. I should have it at the end of the month at latest," I told him.

He gave an affirmative sound " _In time for your meeting with the other Masters. They might be interest in it as well. Just as a warning. They were already baffled when I mentioned that you were looking into the cure for lycanthropy. So many have tried to create something, but nothing ever worked. How is that coming along by the way?_ "

"I have an idea, but first I have to get this over with. After that, I'll test out the idea I had," I explained, leaving out what exactly the idea was. Even if it worked, I wouldn't tell anyone. At least not all the details. I'm sure Nik wouldn't want every Potions Master to know that his blood could possible cure something that has been around for longer than he was alive. No, I doubted that would go over well…

" _Keep me updated,_ " my Master commanded " _I'll send the recipe as soon as I made the copy. Until next month._ "

"Sir, yes, sir," I joked and hung up the phone. As soon as it was safely back in my bra… Right, I was still only wearing the shirt. Oops?… I went back inside.

"So?" Nik jumped up immediately when he saw me. I didn't mind that he was asking questions. The Original had a right to know about what I was doing. It had, after all, everything to do with him. That was also the reason why I would always answer to the best of my abilities. Actually, I tried to answer the questions everyone had about my world or even other things. Hell, I even helped Jeremy with some of his homework.

I grinned at him and nodded "He has the recipe. If everything goes well, we can do the ritual as soon as the Potion is done. I'll tell you how long it'll take when the letter gets here."

To my surprise, the vampire actually pulled me into a tight hug "Thank you, Nova. I know, I don't say it, but I appreciate you doing this."

"Are you feeling me up?" I asked in a mock scolding tone when his hand wandered under the hem of the shirt teasingly. There was nothing between us and there most likely never will be, but that didn't stop the teasing "You don't have to thank me. It gives me something to do. Plus, I kinda feel like Elijah and you are part of my family now. Same with Hunter, Kat, Jenna and Jay."

"Still," Nik argued, letting go of me with a grin "It's not something people usually would do for someone. Especially me. Not even my siblings seem to really understand…"

I took a deep breath "I can't tell you what they were thinking, but I think they just never really understood you. They don't understand what it's like to have a part of yourself locked away, just out of reach. I watched you during the full moon. The wolf hurts you, doesn't it? It hurts you because he's locked away and wants to be free."

The Original swallowed heavily "How can you tell?"

"I might not really know how you feel and I can't relate, but I know about werewolves. At my school there were several of them and one of them was my best friend. She told me what it was like to have the wolf inside of your head. It's like a part of yourself, a part of your personality. The rest, I only observed," I shrugged "Maybe you should explain what you feel to Elijah? He cares about you, even though he might not show it."

"Maybe," he whispered.

I smiled at him again and toughed his shoulder comfortingly "I'll leave you alone. As soon as the letter arrives and I checked the Potion, I'll tell you when we can do the ritual." Niklaus nodded, so I walked out of the living room, only to run into Elijah who was frozen just outside the door 'Talk to him,' I mouthed and nudged him lightly. While I didn't expect them to just forgive and forget, I wanted them to work through the thousand years worth of issues they both had. So far they had humoured me, but I wasn't sure whether I was actually making a difference in anything or not. I guessed, it would get clearer once Nik's werewolf side was freed. Maybe he'd even wake up his siblings, whom he had stashed in a warehouse in Chicago, I believe. Not that I approved of daggering his brothers and his sister, but I could understand why he did it. His father was hunting them and it was his way of protecting them. I would do everything for Draco as well, so there was that. It wasn't the right thing to do, not by a long shot, but it was an attempt on Nik's side. That counted for something, right?


	19. The Potion

I received the letter with the recipe for the Potion two hours after the phone call. The first time I read through the list of ingredients, I almost choked. It didn't seem to be that difficult, but there were a few things that I never thought could interact with each other. The good thing was that there was an explanation behind everything chosen. Wait a moment… Moonstone? I needed powdered Moonstone for this? Hm, I wonder.

"Kat? Elijah?" I called out, knowing that she would hear me from where she was "Does one you still have the Moonstone?"

There was a few beats of silence, before Elijah appeared before me along with a milky white stone in his hand "You need it?"

I shrugged "Any would do, I guess, but why not take the same one your mother used in the first place? It might make the Potion stronger." I took the stone from his hands and nodded in thanks "Can you tell Nik that I'm going to the Magical Alley in Charlottesville later. He can come if he wants to. I need some of the ingredients on this list."

"I'll tell him," the older Mikaelson said, vanishing back downstairs again.

So I had the Moonstone. I also had Aconite, Vervain and Knotgrass in the Greenhouse. There might be some Mandrake Root and Unicorn Horn still in my stores, but I had to check that. The rest – meaning blood from a Peruvian Vipertooth and Phoenix Tears – I'd definitely have to get. Those aren't ingredients you'd usually have to use in anything and they were quite expensive. Not that I minded. I had enough money to last me more than several lifetimes and I never spend it on anything but books, clothes and Potions ingredients. Hunter had taken to pay for all the food and drinks in the house and even the others sometimes paid for stuff.

It was weird that they were using both Vervain and Aconite in that Potion… I mean, usually it wouldn't be a werepire in the ritual, but I could see the advantages of still using them regardless. The Vervain would stop the vampire from fighting against the Potion and the ritual, while the Aconite would prevent the werewolf from taking over as soon as it was free. From what I had researched, Nik wouldn't have as many problems as pure members of each species. He should be able to control his shifts and several of the weaknesses were out of the question. A vampire who could walk into the sun without a ring and a werewolf who could walk under the full moon without turning. Simply thinking about it was amazing.

"I'll come with you," the voice of the Hybrid startled me out of my observations "I'm interested in what you need to get though."

I looked up at him with a frown "Give me a few minutes to check my lab and I'll get back to you on that. It's between two and four things that I don't have here at the moment."

He nodded "So how long will it take?"

"You're in luck. As soon as I have all of the ingredients, the Potions takes two days to brew. The runic circle takes me another few hours, but I can do that during some of the simmering and resting phases the Potion has. So… we should be able to break the curse six days before the next full moon," I calculated quickly "That should give you enough time to get acquainted with your wolf, maybe even shift for the first time. The ritual won't force it, but I'm going to warn you again. It's going to hurt like hell, even more so than I first thought because there's Vervain and Aconite in it."

"Aconite?" he blinked "I've never heard of it."

I rolled my eyes "Sorry. I meant Wolfsbane. Wolfsbane, Aconite and Monkshood. All names mean the same plant. I'm just used to calling it Aconite."

"Then I'm glad that my reactions to those two things aren't too bad," he sighed "When are we leaving? I think Elijah wanted to come with us as well."

"Really?" I questioned "Well, then I suggest we use a portkey. I'm not quite used to apparate more than one person in addition to myself. Half an hour? Be down in the living room by then. I'll just change and check the ingredients in my cupboard."

Nik nodded "We'll be down by then." With those words he left me alone to make my way into my lab across from my bedroom. I had chosen that location because it would be easier to get in there without walking through the whole house. Depending on when the timers go off, I needed to get in there quickly. I ran my finger along the supplies to see if I could find… Ah, I still had several Unicorn Horns along with blood and hair. Mandrake Root, I was running low on though. I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down the stuff I needed to get and ran my eyes over the vials again. There were several others that needed to be refilled, some of them were more important than others, but I noted them now anyway. Since I was going to Charlottesville already, I could get the rest of what I needed as well. Maybe even grab some more books in the mundane world… I never really knew when it started, but I think it was when I was around three years old and Draco was born. My parents got busier with everything around the Dark Lord and after his fall with getting the Malfoy name back to the top, so I burrowed myself into the world of words and paper. I taught myself how to read with the help of Missy and have been reading ever since.

After I completed the list, I hurriedly changed into a skirt that reached around mid-thigh, a simple white shirt and a black leather jacket. The clothes that I wore most were skirts and dresses, just because I was raised that way and back in Beauxbatons we were only allowed to wear our uniform, which was a dress in the most unflattering blue colour you could imagine.

As soon as I was done, I grabbed the notebook I had written the ingredients into along with a random object I could turn into a portkey. Down in the living room the others were present as well. They were all looking at me pleadingly "You're kidding, right? Give me one good reason why I should bring all of you – who were never in the Wizarding World to begin with – with me."

"Hey," Hunter protested "I've been there."

"Yes. And you immediately offended a Goblin," I pointed out with a small glare "If you're all coming then you." I poked Hunter into the chest "Will be responsible for both Kat and Jenna. Jeremy can come with Nik, Elijah and me, if he wants."

Jeremy looked at me, as if he was considering the options, before a grin broke out on his face "Nah, just kidding. I'll go with Nova. Where are you planning on going anyway?"

I scratched my head "Well, the Apothecary, because that's the main reason I'm going, the bookshop maybe and I wanted to go to Barnes and Nobel's as well… Depends on how you guys handle the Apothecary. Hunter almost puked the last time we were in there."

"Why?" Nik snorted.

Hunter shuddered "You have no idea how bad it smells in there. Cas did something though, a spell?"

"Air purifying Charm," I nodded "Anyway, let's go then." I tapped the book with my wand, muttering a low 'Portus' "Grab a hold of the book and whatever you do, don't let go." They all did as they were told and I activated the portkey. There was the usual feeling of a hook behind your navel and the world blurred before my eyes. When we landed in the alley, I was the only one who was still standing. Even the big bad Originals were on the ground. It was hilarious "Sorry," I chuckled "I should have probably warned you. It's not a pleasant feeling, is it?"

Nik groaned, fighting to get back onto his feet "I hate you sometimes, little witch."

"Thanks, Nik. Always glad to be appreciated," I snipped back and turned to my cousin "We'll meet back here in… four hours? Then we can either get something to eat here or we'll go the Mystic Grill. I haven't been in town for a while. Since that Tea Party, I think."

"Sure," Hunter agreed and grabbed both Kat's and Jenna's hands, dragging them off enthusiastically.

I sighed in relief when they were out of earshot "Finally, they're gone. Let's see how many people they can piss off in four hours. Any bets?" Jeremy burst out laughing and even the two old vampires cracked a grin "No?" I lead them in the direction of the Apothecary and threw the charm over the two vampires before we entered "Tell me if you need one as well, Jay."

"It's fine," the human shrugged "Not pleasant, but not the worst thing in the world."

"Ah, if it isn't the little prodigy. I haven't seen you in a while," Armando smiled, coming out of the backroom.

"I've been busy, Armando," I shrugged "I have a few ingredients I need urgently."

The old man nodded "Which ones?"

I pulled out the notebook and leafed to the page in question "Phoenix Tears, Peruvian Vipertooth blood and Mandrake Root. Those are the most important ones."

"What do you need all of that for?" Armando questioned curiously "Those ingredients don't go together."

"It's private, sorry," I told him apologetically "But it's important. Do you have them or should I apparate to New York?"

The owner of the Apothecary shook his head "I've got them. It'll cost you a bit, but I have it. How much?"

I told him the amounts I needed and asked him to double them. In the end, I paid around two hundred dollars for those three things along with one hundred more for all the other ones I needed. When I made to pay though, Nik handed the man his credit card. This was also something I loved about America. Magicals and No-Majs have the same currency. It's not like Britain, where the mundanes had to sell and arm and a leg to get enough money to pay for Hogwarts. I called Missy and asked her to put the ingredients away in my lab. She was the only one who was allowed in there without me present, just because she has always been with me since I started.

"Thanks, Armando," I called over my shoulder, following the vampires "I appreciate your help with this. Please handle this discreetly."

"I always do," the old man snorted "Until next time."

I waved at him and closed the door "So," I murmured "Anything you want to see here? Now is your chance."

Jeremy was looking around curiously "You guys really fly on brooms?"

"Yes," I laughed "Bit stereotypical, but it's fun. There's even an international tournament in Quidditch. It's basically basketball with three hoops thirty feet in the air. The game is pretty fast paced and even dangerous if you're not careful." I lead them over to the store that sold brooms and everything Quidditch related. Even some videos from the games "You can get one of the old games if you want. Might as well be time to get a TV and charm it. I haven't had the time to do that yet."

"Really?" the younger boy asked "Thanks, Nova."

I nodded at him and turned to the two vampires "You can go and explore as well. Just be careful and be back in three hours. I'm trusting you with this."


	20. The Ritual

Two days later, the Potion was in its last simmering phase. I had around two hours left to finish with the runic circle and if it continued the way it was going now, we'd have to do the ritual tomorrow.

The problem was plain and simple. Nik. He hovered over my shoulder, walking with me whenever I took a step. Earlier, he had annoyed Elijah and the others so much with his pacung that they threw him out. After that, he practically attached himself to me.

"Nik," I groaned in annoyance "If you don't leave me alone, I won't be able to finish this on time." I grabbed a Calming Draught out if my pocket and almost hit myself for not thinking about this before "Drink this and go back inside. I'll come and get you once I'm done."

The Original looked at my expression and then to the vial, before he grabbed it with a pout "Fine," he huffed, chugging the disgusting liquid. Maybe I should really find a way to make Potions taste better, but as long as I rarely need to take any, I'm good. It funny to see other people react to the taste though. Nik stalked back towards the door, looking more relaxed already. Hopefully the Potion would work until the Potion was done.

Without the additional distraction, I quickly finished the circle with minutes to spare. While I had taken Ancient Runes in school, this was a different level. I could barely get the connection between the runes, but I knew that they worked together if they were aligned like they were here. Who would have thought that being friends with vampires could make me learn more than I thought possible?

Several minutes later, I was standing in my lab, looking at the Potion. It had the colour it should have according to the book, so I hoped that it would work. For Nik's sake. I was just glad that Elijah and Niklaus talked about the reason Nik changed so drastically. His human self had always been so happy, even with his father's influence. After his werewolf had been locked away, he changed. Turned into the homicidal and slightly psychotic legend, he's known as now. The saddest thing was that even though his siblings always preached Always and Forever, they didn't do a very good job when it came to Nik. If we ever get the Hybrid to undagger his siblings, then I'm definitely going to make sure that he tells them everything about his change.

I bottled the right amount of Potion needed and sealed the vial for now. With the brew in hand, I walked into the living room to find all the vampires waiting nervously "I'm finished, so we can either do it now or we'll wait for an hour or so."

"Now," Nik nodded, taking a deep breath.

I smiled "No problem. I'm just going to check the circle real quick. Elijah, go outside with Nik. You're the only one who is going to be out here while I'm doing the chant. Less people means less of a chance to get interrupted."

"That's so unfair," Hunter complained.

"Did anyone ever tell you that life isn't fair? I really don't want to get anything wrong. This is huge. Bigger than anything I've done before."

Kat pulled me into a soothing hug. Ever since she started staying with us and made peace with the Mikaelsons, she became less Katherine and more Katerina. Katherine Pierce was a mask that she didn't have to wear around all of us "You're going to nail it," she whispered "Niklaus trusts you enough to let you do this. This is huge."

I took a deep breath and snuggled into her for a second, before I pulled back "Thanks."

"Go get 'em," she grinned and shooed me towards the door.

In the garden, I could see Elijah trying to calm down a very jumpy Nik. Not that I couldn't understand his reaction, I did, but it was a bit of a problem if he didn't calm down soon.

Last minute checks of the circle done, I held out the Potion to Nik "Everything seems to be in order. If this works the way we think it does then you'll be a Hybrid in half an hour and you will turn into a werewolf next Saturday."

"Yes, yes," he fidgeted "What do I have to do?"

I tied up my hair, so it wouldn't start flying all over as soon as the magic spiked " Drink the Potion and then lie down in the middle of the circle. Yes, right there." As soon as I was in position, I waved Elijah back "Now stay as still as you can." I started chanting in Gobbledegook , trying desperately not to stumble over any words.

So far, so good. The wind picked up when I was two verses in and not too long after, Niklaus started glowing gold. The glow expanded until the whole circle was an almost blinding colour of white and gold. Inside, I could hear Nik screaming in pain and hurried it along a bit. My chanting git faster and louder, until I reached the last line.

' _And free he shall be forevermore._ '

The wind died down and I collapsed in exhaustion. Damn, I never used up this much magic in one go. Not that it was a bad thing or anything, but the feeling of emptiness was a bit disconcerting.

"Nova?" Elijah's voice sounded next to me "What's wrong?"

"I used a bit too much magic," I breathed, laying down in hopes of getting the world to stop spinning "I'll be fine once I sleep for a bkt and eat. Go check on your brother. He'll most likely be unconscious until tomorrow or so."

Elijah looked over his shoulder and towards the circle "So it worked?"

I nodded "I can feel it. Nik's aura changed a bit. Now we'll just have to wait and see." Shen the Original stepped in the direction of the new Hybrid, I smiled tiredly "Nobby. Can you bring me to bed?"

"Yes, Mistress." The little House Elf grabbed a hold of me and deposited me on top of my bed a second later. As soon as my back hit the soft fabric, I was asleep.


	21. Of Food and Confrontations

I was curled up on Nik's lap, still pretty sleepy. The ritual was a success and the Hybrid was already way happier than he had been. As soon as he woke up, I was immediately grabbed from my room and practically trapped me in an embrace.

"Thank you so much," he whispered into my hair.

I pecked him on the cheek in a sisterly fashion "Always, Nik. I'm glad it worked." The words had barely left my mouth, when a jaw cracking yawn escaped me.

"Sleep some more, Nova," Elijah commanded from the armchair across from us.

I nodded and went to stand up, but the Original's arms tightened around me "You're not letting me go, are you?" I snorted in amusement. The only answer I was, was a warning squeeze "Okay, okay. Can you at least let me get more comfortable?" I shifted a bit, gettin more comfortable, while simultaneously snuggling deeper into the Hybrid's chest. He was warm and I was tired.

The next time I woke up, an easy conversation was flowing around me. My head was lying on Niklaus' lap, while his fingers ran through my hair. Compared to the dark fabric of his pants, my hair was a fucking beacon. I had the same white blonde colour my father and my brother shared. The only thing I had from my mother was the bright blue eyes of the Black family. My brother on the other hand was the carbon copy of our father.

"Finally awake, love?" Nik teased.

I pouted up at him "I need to sleep to replenish the magic I used in the ritual." My stomach made a little noise "And now I'm hungry."

"Shall we go to the Grill? I seem to remember that you wanted to go there?" Elijah spoke up from my right.

"I'm in," I grinned "Just need to put on something that doesn't consist of a shirt."

Kat jumped up from her place and dragged me up the stairs to my room "Hurry up then. I want to mess with the Gang," she smirked, shoving me into my room "You have ten minutes."

"Kat," I exclaimed in annoyance, grabbing a top, a short sweater and a black skirt. Within five minutes I was changed and was just braiding my hair when the vampire doppelgänger came back into the room.

"Are you done?" she demanded playfully.

I rolled my eyes at her, finishing off the braid "Yes."

Half an hour later, we were at the Grill. The four vampires had taken Nik's Escalade, while Jeremy and Jenna joined me in my Tesla. A car that Jeremy had drooled over as soon as he noticed it. I had to promise him to drive him to school once in a while. So far I hadn't had the time yet, but I plan on doing that in a bit.

Our group of seven walked into the Grill, immediately noticing Elena and the Salvatores at one of the tables.

"Nova," Matt greeted with a small smile "I haven't seen you in ages."

I nodded at the blond boy "Sorry about that, Matt. I got a bit busy…"

He shrugged dismissively "Hey Jenna, Jeremy. Come on. The table over there is free."

After we were seated, the seven of us went over our menus. There were a lot of things that I personally never ate before. I heard of them, but getting them was always a bit hard. Especially when both the House elves and my friends were so careful about what they cooked or ate. I never really cared about calories, but I seemed to be one of the only ones.

"Two things," I spoke up in confusion "What are Onion Rings and what the heck is a corn dog?"

Jeremy gaped at me "How do you not know?"

I shrugged sheepishly "Well, while I know a lot of mundane things, I didn't grow up around this, Jay. You can't expect me to know everything."

"You're right," he nodded in thought "Hey, what about the TV you promised me?"

I laughed at the teenager "Tomorrow? I just hope that I can get it to run on the runes."

Jeremy nodded in satisfaction "Oh, and Onion Rings are basically Onion fried with some sort of crust around it. Corn dogs are gross. That's all you need to know."

"Okay," I smirked "If you say -"

"Jeremy, Jenna," Elena cut me off "What are you doing with – with them? And who is he?" She glared at me and Hunter.

I scoffed and leaned back on the bench I was sitting on "Hello to you too, Elena."

Hunter coughed into Kat's shoulder "Cas," he mock scolded "Be nice to the doppelgänger."

"Hey," Kat protested "Just because she looks like me, doesn't mean that we all have to be lumped into the same category."

Nik rolled his eyes at the Petrova vampire and smirked at the group in front of us "We haven't met yet, have we? My name is Niklaus Mikaelson. A pleasure."

The three idiots froze and Damon turned to glare at Elijah "What are you doing with him? Didn't you want him dead?"

"I changed my mind," the older Original shrugged elegantly – how he managed that was beyond me, but it looked surprisingly regal. For a shrug that is "Now we would like to enjoy a meal if you don't mind."

Damon, who for once seemed to realize the situation they were in was trying to pull Elena and Stefan away from us, but the other two were having none of it. They kept throwing accusations at me, Jenna and Jeremy, while also insulting Kat and the two Originals. Seriously, how stupid could they get? You didn't just insult people who were more powerful than you… That actually sounded like something I would do. Poking things with a stick. Wasn't that how I became friends – or rather family – with both Nik and Elijah? Maybe sometimes it was alright to insult people, but you always had to know when to stop. Also, they were extremely insulting towards all of us.

I massaged the centre of my forehead tiredly and leaned against Nik's shoulder. My magic still wasn't replenished completely, but I was getting there. I just wanted to eat in peace. Was that so hard to understand? "Listen here. We're here to eat and the three of you are keeping us from that. If you could kindly leave? I'm sure Nik would love nothing more than to get his hands on the doppelgänger…" They didn't know that the curse was already broken, but neither did they have to know. Why not use their lack of knowledge to my advantage?

"Elena," Damon hissed "Let's go."

"Fine," the bitch huffed, stalking out of the Grill with her head held high.

I stared after her with a raised eyebrow "Huh. I wasn't expecting that…" To Jeremy and Jenna I added "How the hell did you manage to live with her? I would have killed her or myself after a week." The two of them didn't have an answer for me.

Matt came back to take our orders and after an annoying interruption, out outing went over pretty well.


	22. MACUSA

Two weeks after I broke Niklaus' curse he and Elijah left with some of Elena's blood to try and turn a pack of werewolves who were willing into werepires. The younger Salvatore had joined them as well, very unwillingly, but he would have done everything to save his brother, who had gotten onto the wrong side of a werewolf's teeth.

I had practically locked myself in my lab again, experimenting with the blood I had from Nik. The way it was looking now, I was getting close to the solution.

_Flashback_

" _When are you going to undagger our siblings?" Elijah questioned his younger brother a few days later. We were all sitting in the living room, hanging out. Okay, correction. The others were hanging out. I was trying to get the TV to work in a magical environment. Normally, I would have just bought a flat screen from the magical alley, but Jeremy dragged me into an electronics store._

_Nik tilted his head in thought "Soon. I want to try and make Hybrids first though, maybe look for Mikael and get rid of him. I don't want him finding us again…"_

" _But you will free them?"_

" _Yes, brother," the newly turned Hybrid vowed "You have my word."_

_I looked over my shoulder "Don't forget that you need the doppelgänger's blood to sire them. Speaking of blood, can I start taking some of yours later?"_

_Niklaus groaned "Are you sure that's the only way it will work?"_

" _Pretty sure," I nodded "But I might be able to get you a few bags. I only need to get close enough to transfer some blood into vials or a bottle or whatever." I got up from etching runes into the back of the huge device and grinned at Jeremy "Moment of truth. Wanna try?"_

" _Hell yeah," the teenager exclaimed in excitement "No offense, but I definitely prefer video games over books."_

_I smirked and handed him the remote "Here. If it works, the rest is your problem. I etched your consoles as well, so that should be everything you need."_

_Jenna rolled her eyes "I'm not sure if this was a good idea."_

" _Sometimes I think you're the best thing that could have happened to us, Nova," Elijah murmured "You seem to have a solution for almost everything."_

" _Magic is amazing," I shrugged "That has nothing to do with me. I only find the information you need."_

_Nik pulled me onto the arm of the chair. He had become a lot more touchy-feely in the last few days. Not that I minded, but it was something that did surprise me a lot. My parents – while they were good parents – they were also a bit out of touch with their emotions sometimes, so hugging didn't happen very often… "Don't sell yourself short, love."_

_Scene change_

_I had pulled Nik with me into my lab and drawn a bottle of blood, while the werepire looked around curiously "So this is where you brew Potions? It smells gross."_

_I snorted "Yeah, I'm not surprised. A lot of ingredients are usually body parts or fluids from various animals. That's why Potions taste extremely bad. Thanks for the blood."_

" _No problem. I'll give you some more before Elijah and I leave to find some werewolves," Nik smiled. It was something they had discussed earlier. The older Original had decided to join his younger brother on his quest, opting against staying here. I think Elijah just wanted to make up for how he treated Niklaus over the centuries and protect him to the best of his abilities. Not that he needed it, but the sentiment was appreciated nevertheless._

_Flashback End_

It has been a month now. A month since the ritual and two weeks since I started on the Potion. I lost count of how many times the experimental Potion had blown up. I think half of my body would have been bruised if not for magic and the blood Hunter always forced down my throat. It was actually quite funny to see him fussing over me as soon as he heard a bang.

Then, finally – finally! – my fiftieth try didn't blow up. I only needed a drop of Nik's blood this time, but even this one drop could be enough. One of the rats that I had infected with werewolf poison was injected with the mixture from the cauldron. Normally, you could see the virus in the bloodstream. Rats didn't turn, but they displayed lycanthropy. That was why they were the ideal test subjects. Also, I really hated rats, so no loss there.

When I checked the blood an hour or two later, I almost dropped my wand. There was no trace of the virus. None at all. The only thing I wasn't sure about was whether it was temporary or if one dose could cure someone. That test though was out of my hands.

I called Master Rayburn without checking the time beforehand.

" _Do you have any idea what time it is?_ " the old man groaned through the phone.

I blinked "No?"

" _It's two in the morning. Nova, why did you call me this early?"_

"The rat I gave the Potion didn't have lycanthropy anymore." The excitement was clear in my voice.

I heard a disbelieving sound " _Bottle it up and bring it over, will you? I'll make sure that they test it on one of the volunteers._ "

"What about the recipe? You know that I can't tell anyone what I used," I fretted nervously. Well, I could, but I didn't want to put Nik into any danger. If people found out that his blood was a necessary ingredient in an anti-werewolf Potion, I wasn't sure what they would do. While he could take care of himself, he already had enough enemies without me adding to it. I think that the paperwork they were going to publish will only contain the ingredient as 'blood' along with a warning that no one tried it. The papers for the League would include everything I reseached, since they weren't stupid enough to go after my brother and they were sworn to silence. None of them coul tell an outsider about a Potion someone invented. It was the ultimate protection, since several Potions were similarly contained - so the recipe was only known by the creators.

" _That doesn't matter. As long as you can supply the Potion to anyone who wants it,_ " my Master replied " _You know, this might actually just get you your Mastery if it works._ "

I gaped "You're joking, right? I only started eight months ago."

Master Rayburn chuckled " _Nova. You might have just solved a problem that has been around for centuries. I don't doubt that they'll hand you the certificate on a silver plate._ "

I took a deep breath and nodded to myself "I'll be over in a few minutes. Just have to clean up a bit."

" _Bring your notes as well. Might as well finish editing it before we're going to the Ministry later on,_ " he added " _I doubt any of us can sleep now._ "

"Indeed not. I'll see you soon," I promised, hanging up the phone. With a wave of my hand, the Potion was evenly distributed into vials and the cauldron was clean. There were about forty doses in one batch and one drop of Nik's blood. The rest of the bottle should give me a few hundred more if it all works out the way it does.

It didn't take long for me to pack everything up and write a note to the others. I told them that I wasn't sure when I'd return and that I had finished the Potion I had been working on. Basically everything in a sentence.

"Nova," Master Rayburn greeted me with an excited smile "How sure are you that this will work?"

I shrugged "Not a hundred percent, but the rat is completely healthy again. I checked again before I left. Now we'll only have to see how it works on a human and if they'll need more than one dose."

"How many do you have?"

"Forty vials full, but I can make more if needed," I explained, handing over the page I had written the materials on "This is the stuff I used uncensored. Just have to edit out whose blood I used in there."

The old man shook his head in amazement "You know, out of all of my previous apprentices, I would never have thought that someone who's not even a Master yet, could crack the lycanthropy mystery."

I smiled sheepishly "I wouldn't have gotten it if Nik hadn't told me that his blood could cure the other kind of werewolf bite. After that, I only had to check and see how much I'd need of the different things."

"Still," he cut in "It is an amazing feat."

"Thank you, Master."

He gave me a nod "I sent an owl to my contact in the Ministry. They will have one of the volunteers ready for us at nine. Can I interest you in something to eat? Drink?"

"Food sounds good," I murmured, rubbing my head tiredly. I was still way too excited to sleep, but the last three days were catching up with me now. All the explosions, the fact that I hadn't slept for more than two or three hours a night. Everything.

We left for MACUSA at eight thirty. There was a group of people already waiting for us. Four men in expensive suits, the Minister of Magic and a man in a comfortable dress shirt.

"Kenneth," the Minister greeted Master Rayburn with a huge smile "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"I'm well, John," my Master grinned, putting a hand on my shoulder "John, this is Nova Malfoy. She is my current apprentice and the creator of the Potion we're going to test today."

Minister Bailey mustered me critically "If the letter wasn't from you, I probably wouldn't even have bothered with coming yet. People have been searching for the cure for centuries… it just seems highly unlikely that someone so young can create a Potion that strong."

I smiled nervously "My godfather had been teaching me Potions since I was very young, sir. He is Britain's youngest Master. I have always had an interest in the art, so I learned what I could. I really hope this works, because I want to help the werewolves in England specifically. No one deserves to be treated like they are."

"I think I like you," the man in the dress shirt – the werewolf most likely – nodded, holding out his hand to me "I'm Jack."

"Nova," I introduced myself "Thank you for being my guinea pig."

Jack laughed "Well, I did volunteer."

"Then let's adjourn to a room where Mr. Taylor can get more comfortable," the Minister clapped and lead the way.

I leaned over to Master Rayburn and whispered "Who are the others?"

"They are part of the League of Potions Masters. Whenever a new Potion gets tested, they're going to be there and register it basically."

What followed were an exhausting four hours. In the end, everyone in the room was surprised that there was literally no trace of the previous venom in Jack's blood. Nothing.

"Well, Ms. Malfoy," the head of the League's research team started in an official tone "You have surprised all of us. We will talk about your achievement, but I can almost guarantee that you will be able to receive your Mastery soon. There's only the matter of the Potion's details left."

"About that," I spoke up "I don't want the recipe published. One of the ingredients is a good friend's blood and I do not want to endanger him. Also, I'm not sure if I should publish it under my real name since I'm still hiding from the whole situation in Britain."

The man across from me studied me "That would be alright, I think. What name would you like it to be published in?"

"Nova Mikaelson," I stated. Niklaus and Elijah had been happy when I told them about my plan. They had been adamant that I was as good as their sister anyway, so I could just as well use their last name.

A blond on the right of the man I was talking to gasped "Mikaelson? As in the Original family?"

My lips twitched "You heard of them? Yes. I'm quite close to two of them…"

"I wasn't aware that they were aware of our world," the blond mused.

I shrugged "Niklaus knew. Apparently, his younger brother Kol had some dealings with our kind of magic before. Elijah on the other hand, I told. It's not like he wouldn't have found out anyway."

The Minister raised an eyebrow "Are there any more people who are aware of your magic?"

"Several," I grimaced "My cousin Hunter, his girlfriend Katerina Petrova and two No-Majs. They are the family of the recent doppelgänger."

Every male in the room blinked at me in surprise "Where the hell do you live?"

"Mystic Falls. There are vampires, werewolves, Wiccans, doppelgängers and if you give it time, I'm sure someone or something else will pop up sooner or later," I explained "That town is weird, but I have come to like it."

Minister Bailey shook his head in exasperation "It was nice to make your acquaintance, Ms. Malfoy. I'm sure we will meet again someday."

"Minister," I nodded, bowing my head in respect as he walked out of the room.

Jack came forward and drew me into a tight hug "Thank you."

"It's fine. I'm glad that it worked," I smiled and glanced down at my phone that I had muted before we left. I had about sixty new messages, some sounding urgent. Something about Elena and her friends showing up at my house with the Sheriff and creating a scene "I'm so sorry that I have to cut this short, but there's an emergency at home."

"That's quite alright, Ms. Malfoy," the representative of the League waved off "We will contact you once we have come to an agreement."

"Thank you," I told them and turned to grin at my Master "I'm sure we'll talk soon as well."

Master Rayburn rolled his eyes "I'm sure we will, brat. There's also the meeting with some of my friends in the League in two weeks. I hope you haven't forgotten."

"I haven't. Then I'll see you then," I bowed and with one look through the room, I left, hurrying to the fireplace that would bring me back home.


	23. Trouble

I flooed to Master Rayburn's house and apparated to the street a couple of feet away from the house. I could already see the unknown cars in front of the door. One was Sheriff Forbes police car and the other one I didn't recognize. Maybe Elena's car or something.

As soon as the front door was open, I could hear loud arguing from the living room. Great! I wasn't sure who was in my house, but I didn't like it. Jenna was able to invite people in as well, so I really wasn't sure what to expect.

Whatever I expected to see, that wasn't it… Jeremy and Kat were sitting on one of the couches, staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of them. Hunter was facing off against the human doppelgänger, the Bennett witch and the Sheriff. At least there were no vampires with them at the moment. Thank God for small mercies. Neither Damon nor the Sheriff's daughter - Caroline - if I remembered right. Jenna, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on here?" I demanded quietly, freezing the others in their tracks.

"Nova. Thank God you're here," Hunter sighed, coming over to hug me "How was it?"

I grinned "It worked. It really worked. They are debating about my Mastery now."

My cousin twirled me around happily "That's awesome."

"I know, so tell me why I practically fled from the room just after the Minister left?"

Hunter rolled his eyes and nodded to the doppelgänger "Elena apparently accused you of being a drug dealer and of kidnapping her aunt and her brother..."

I snorted "You're joking, right?"

"I'm afraid not," Sheriff Forbes cut in "Jeremy has told me that both he and Jenna are here because they want to be. About the other allegations, I am only going to ask for now."

"Listen, Sheriff. I respect what you're doing and I get that you have to check something like that, but you will find several weird things in this house. I'm a Chemistry and Biology student and as such there might be some suspicious ingredients here," I explained truthfully.

"May I see?"

I sighed tiredly "I don't see how this is important. I'm not doing anything illegal here."

Bonnie sneered at me "Really? Then why won't you show us?"

"The same reason your grandmother had her secrets," I snapped back "This house is my private property and since you really don't have any grounds, there's nothing you can do. It's the word of two teenage girls against me and the other six people living in this house."

"Six?" Sheriff Forbes frowned.

I draped myself across Jeremy's lap and grinned up at him cheekily "Well, yes. Jenna, Jay, Kat, Hunter, Elijah and his younger brother Nik. Six."

"You forgot Missy and Nobby," Hunter pointed out.

"Oh, right… Oops. Then there are nine people living here," I corrected myself sheepishly.

Elena glared at me from behind the Sheriff "Who are Missy and Nobby? And what's with the names?"

Kat scoffed "Could you be any ruder? Missy and Nobby are Cas' staff here at the house. They've been with her since she was a child."

"You're just an arrogant rich girl then," the human doppelgänger concluded "Living off of your parent's money and making a good life for yourself."

I rolled to my feet and stalked closer to the bitch "Are you seriously coming into my house accusing me of not only kidnapping but also being arrogant, spoilt and – worst of all – you accuse me of being a freaking drug dealer." To Sheriff Forbes I said "Are you listening to this? Because I honestly don't have to tell you that I'm not the problem here. I didn't do anything wrong and neither did they." Just as she was about to answer, my phone started ringing. I glanced at the caller ID and smiled lightly "Hey, Nik."

" _Nova,"_ the Hybrid greeted " _How are you?"_

"I'm fine… more or less. We're having visitors in form of the Sheriff, the Bennett girl and Jay's sister. Did you know that I am a drug dealer and a kidnapper?" I snorted, watching the reactions of the intruders. It was priceless. Sheriff Forbes had apparently realized that she had been played by the two girls and was turning all sorts of colours in her embarrassment. Elena and Bonnie, on the other hand, were still glaring at me and Hunter, who had come to stand next to me. Probably to stop me from attacking them.

" _You're joking, right?_ "

I laughed "No, but that was my reaction as well when I came back from New York." On that note… "Hey, it worked by the way. I found the cure," I told him excitedly.

On the other end of the line, I could hear a quiet laugh from Elijah apparently " _Of course you did, Nova._ "

"I take offense to that, 'Lijah. Okay, no I don't. How is it going with you guys?" I waved at the three still standing around dumbly "Hunter, get them out, will you? I'm going to my room."

"Sure, Cassie," my cousin nodded, herding them towards the front door.

When I walked past the hallway and up the stairs, I could hear the Sheriff apologizing to Hunter. I didn't blame her for anything. She only did what she thought was right, no matter how unconventional it was. Although, nothing about this town was conventional, so I really could forgive her. The other two were another story entirely.

" _One pack already turned into Hybrids. Elijah and I are currently helping them to adjust. We were thinking about trying to find some others and give them a choice of becoming Hybrids. The only weird thing was that they all had a sire bond to me,_ " Niklaus explained " _I dealt with that though. I don't need an army or anything. They are quite loyal even without it._ "

I smiled "I'm glad to hear that. So I'm guessing that you're going to be gone for a while longer?"

" _Probably. Maybe another one or two months. Maybe more._ "

"Listen, I'd love to talk more, but I'm exhausted. Today was way too exciting and I haven't slept well since you two left and I started on the Potion," I murmured with a yawn.

I could practically hear the eye rolls " _Why am I not surprised? You have to take better care of yourself,_ " Elijah told me, having taken the phone from his brother.

"Yes, mother," I mocked "I'll see you guys soon."

" _Bye, Nova,_ " they chorused and I hung up. Within a few minutes I was in my sleepwear – magic was so much faster than trying to get changed and failing miserably. I have experience in failing while changing. Before I found out about the charm that could change your clothes, I often fell asleep in my less than comfortable school uniform. I'm still wondering who thought of that. Maybe it was some man or something because when we visited Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament we were stared at way too much. Especially some of the girls with creature blood. Whether it was Nymph or Veela or something similar. It was also the only time I really saw how my brother acted in public. Draco had adopted the most unflattering habit of our father and turned it into something new entirely. I wasn't sure what to think about the arrogance he displayed.

Oh well, maybe I could take him with me once he finished school. Just to get him away from the war that was surely starting to brew over in Britain. Not long now. Not long and I'd go visit, no matter what was right and what wasn't. I wanted to see my family again.


	24. Back to Britain

A month after the cure was tested and published, it was finally time for me to go to England. There were so many arguments with both Hunter and Kat because I didn't want to take them with me. I didn't want to expose them to the possible danger of the Dark Lord.

I had gotten my Potions Mastery already and they were talking about testing me for my Healing Mastery before the year was up, so I was happy and on my way to make an amazing career. There had already been so many people who wanted the cure and I was happy to oblige. I had made as many doses as I could from the blood I had left and given it to the Ministry. They had set up a vault for me at the bank where they would put my share of the profit in. From all of the vials, I only kept two. One for the wolf my uncle had told me about and the other for Uncle Sev. He practically demanded I give him one.

So, it's been two months since Nik and Elijah left and I was about to leave and go back home to check up on my family. The only person I had gotten in contact with before I left was Uncle Sev, who had made it clear that I was not to go to the Manor. Apparently, the Dark Lord was staying with Draco and my parents along with several of the inner circle Death Eaters. I wasn't sure what to do, but for now, I'd go to the Leaky Cauldron and check out the situation. Thankfully, Draco's Fifth year had already started, so at least he wasn't exposed to the houseguests my parents had.

"Are you sure that you want to go alone?" Hunter clarified for the hundredth time.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance "Yes, Hunter, I am sure. Listen, I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but it should be longer than two or three weeks. If it does take longer, I'll contact you."

"Promise?" my cousin asked, drawing me into a suffocating hug.

"I promise," I groaned out "Now let go of me, you big baby."

Kat laughed at her boyfriend's hurt look and gave me a hug as well "Take care of yourself, Cas."

"I will. Tell Jenna and Jay goodbye? Oh and Jay can use my car if he promises to be careful," I grinned and picked up my bag. I quickly shrunk it and walked over to the fireplace "I'll be back.  _Leaky Cauldron_." I stepped into the green flames and was immediately whisked away. It took ages to arrive, but the fact that I was basically crossing an ocean, it wasn't too surprising. On the other side of the Floo, I got out gracefully, looking around the dingy pub that I had seen so often over the course of my life. We rarely Floo'd directly into Gringotts or the Alley, so going through the Leaky Cauldron was a must. I also went into the alley alone quite frequently and often stayed for a while, talking to the owner of the pub, Tom.

"Miss Malfoy," the old man grinned a toothless smile "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Hello, Tom," I greeted "Yes, I've been out of the country for my Mastery."

His expression turned curious "What are you getting your Mastery in?"

I leaned forward slightly "I got my Potions title three weeks ago and am still working on the Healing Mastery."

"Well," the bartender chuckled merrily "If anyone can get a Mastery that fast, it would be the one taught by Britain's youngest Potions Master."

"Indeed," a deep voice from behind me agreed.

I whirled around startled and relaxed, seeing Uncle Sev standing there in his teaching robes "Uncle Severus," I smiled "Wait, it's four already?"

My uncle smirked down at me in amusement "It is. Welcome to the same calendar as the rest of us Brits."

I poked out my tongue at him and jumped off of the stool "It was nice to see you again, Tom."

"Same to you, Miss Malfoy. Have a nice day. Professor," the old man nodded politely.

"Come along, Cassiopeia," Sev called "We're going to go to Gringotts. Your parents are going to be there." I jogged to catch up with his long strides as we went out into the crowded alley. Diagon was never quiet, not even after the school year had started "You are aware that you being here is not the best idea?"

"I know," I answered quietly "But I needed to make sure that they are okay. It's not like the Dark Lord is still interested in me, right?"

My uncle stopped and faced me, a serious look on his face "That's where you're wrong. He was extremely mad that your parents hid you from him. If he finds out that you're here again, he will come after you."

"But why?" I exclaimed in confusion "What makes me so special?"

"I don't know, Cas. But I presume it has something to do with your field of expertise. You're an amazing Potions Mistress and a Healer as well. Someone like you would help him," Severus muttered quietly "And I still can't get over the fact that you invented the cure for lycanthropy… I have been trying to do that for years."

I laughed "It's all about the ingredients, Uncle Sev. I'm not going to tell you what I put in there though. I promised."

"Fine, fine," he huffed, leading me into the bank "Oh, look! There's your daughter." I was pushed towards my father by the still pouting Professor.

I rolled my eyes at him and scrutinizing my father closely. He looked tired and really, really drawn "Hey."

"Cassiopeia," he greeted, pulling me into a suffocating hug. My second one today. What was it with men trying to suffocate me? "Why did you come back?"

I leaned my head against his chest and sighed "I wanted to make sure you were alright." At that moment, I remembered the two vials I still had in my pocket "Uncle Sev? Do you see that werewolf you told me about?"

"Yes, why?"

I handed the two vials over "Give him one of those, would you? It only needs one dose and as far as we tested, there were no side effects."

The other Potions Master studied the Potion intensely "So that's your miracle cure. Interesting…"

My mother looked at Severus curiously "What are you talking about?"

"Your daughter is a fully fledged Potions Mistress because she invented the cure for lycanthropy," Severus told them in his usual emotionless voice.

Both of them gaped at me "How?"

"Trade secret," I laughed "So, you're doing okay?"

Mother kissed my head gently "Yes, Cassiopeia. We're doing alright considering the circumstances. Will you leave again now?"

I breathed in deeply "He wants me that much?"

"I don't want to take the chance," she murmured, steering me towards the door again "We'll bring you to the Leaky Cauldron again."

"If you think that's for the best," I shrugged.

The four of us walked along the alley when all of a sudden I was pulled away from my family and forced into a gap between two buildings at wand point. I struggled against the grip, which didn't help me much at all. As soon as we were out of the way of most people, I was forcibly apparated away.

The person holding me let go as my feet hit the floor. Since I was neither prepared nor the person who did the apparating, I collapsed to the ground in a heap. I stiffened when I recognized the floor of the ballroom of Malfoy Manor. Wow… This so wasn't my day, was it? I haven't even been in England for an hour yet and I was already in front of the Dark Lord.

"Little Miss Malfoy," a high voice hissed evilly. I closed my eyes for a second, strengthening my mental shields and looked up at the dais. On a throne-like chair at the top of the room where he was… The blackness of his robes was a huge contrast to the white of his scaly skin. Voldemort's red eyes drilled into my blue ones "I have been waiting to meet you."

"Yeah?" I questioned, my sarcasm fought to the forefront of my mind "Same can't be said for you though."

As quick as a snake, he drew his wand "Crucio." I groaned and writhed on the floor. That curse was way more painful than I thought "Take her away," he ordered one of the Death Eaters behind me "There are some people I need to talk to first."


	25. To Talk or Not?

I didn't know how much time has passed since I got captured. There were only two things that I was aware of. One, everything hurt like hell and two, there was always someone close, making sure that I couldn't escape. Maybe if they hadn't been here, I could have gotten out. I was a Malfoy after all and currently imprisoned behind the wards that were supposed to protect my family. Okay, that was a lie. The wards weren't what kept me here. It was the fact that I couldn't seem to gather enough magic to leave. The Dark Lord and several of his Death Eaters tortured me continuously, making it hard for my magic to be used in any way other than trying to heal my wounds. Trying was the keyword. One of the assholes who cursed me made sure that nothing magical or supernatural could heal the wounds that were on my body currently.

My right arm was broken in three places. One was my shoulder, my forearm and my wrist. Just thinking about moving the injured limb made pain shoot through my entire body. Of course, that could also be because of the sheer endless amount of Crucios and cutting curses I had endured.

At the moment, I was gathering strength to get the fuck away from here, but I was too weak to move, much less use magic. My head was pounding in sync with my arm from Voldemort mind raping me. Over the time I stayed here, he had shredded my shield almost entirely. The only memories that I was able to keep from him were everything about the vampires and Mystic Falls.

Just as I was about to try and apparate out, the door was flung open by the one werewolf I hated most. Fenrir Grayback was the worst of the worst. The disgusting man had always been more wolf than human, which wouldn't have been too bad, but he made it his life mission to bite as many people and even small children as possible. While I'm sure that Nik wasn't much better with the killing part of the story, he at least never attacked children if he had another choice.

"Get up," the werewolf grunted, grabbing a hold of my broken arm tightly. I struggled to get on my feet and his grip wasn't making it any easier. I had been in this stupid cell for days - if not weeks - without food. I was only fed maybe three or four times in the whole time I was here. The wolf had enough of my sad attempts and just threw me over his shoulder "Do you know that you reek like a vampire?"

"No," I groaned as my wounds jostled.

"It's really quite fascinating," he mused "You smell of vampire so much that I'd bet that you're their whore." His hand drifted up the back of my legs, over my ass and between my legs. I flinched violently, and much to his amusement I landed in a heap on the ground "Now, now. Is this really how a pureblood behaves?" The wolf stalked closer to me, a predatory glint in his yellow eyes.

"Fenrir," a voice called out from the doors of the ballroom. I clenched my eyes shut. The voice was familiar. I think his name was Yaxley. He along with MacNair and the Lestranges were some of the Dark Lord's worst Death Eaters. There was nothing they wouldn't do for him "Our Lord is getting impatient. Stop playing with the bitch and get her in here."

Grayback growled at the man, but he listened. I was dragged into the room by my hair and dropped in front of the throne that was in the room. Voldemort was sitting there, staring down at me in sadistic amusement. A look he wore whenever he saw what they all did to me. I probably looked like death warmed over, but for once I didn't care.

"You know my question already," the man started in a soft but cold voice "What I want to know is if your answer has changed."

"My answer is still and will always be 'no'," I rasped out, bracing myself for the whatever spell he decided to throw at me today. Despite this, I whimpered loudly when he tore through my mind once more

This time, though, another part of my shield shredded, revealing memories of Hunter and Kat.

The assault stopped as the Dark Lord let out a high pitched laugh "What do we have here? Vampires? How do you know them?"

"Go... to hell," I spat with as much attitude as I could. The fight was slowly fading from my body and it left me tired as hell. While I wished for the torture to stop, I didn't want to deal with the consequences giving up would bring me.

"Fenrir," Voldemort called, waving the werewolf forward "You have free reign until she tells us what we want to know."

I jerked at the exclamation and whimpered at the wolf's feral expression. As much as I just wanted to give in, I also wanted to protect Hunter and the others. Inside, I was at war. Should Ido what was right or should I take the easy way? I hurt so much already... What would happen if Fenrir actually got to do whatever he wanted? Staying quiet was getting harder and harder the longer I was here, but I knew that I'd rather die than to betray my family. I tried to gather my magic to probe the wards, when I felt a heavy boot on my back, pressing me to the floor. A groan of pain escaped me and I could hazily hear a voice whispering in my ear "We're going to have so much fun."

"Take her," the Dark Lord dismissed "And don't fail me, Fenrir."

The werewolf bowed "I won't, my lord."


	26. Too Late?

_No PoV_

"Where is she?" Hunter raged. Cas hadn't been in contact with them and she promised to call or write them after two weeks. It's has been about five and a half weeks now and the Black vampire got angrier and more worried as the days passed. If Kat hadn't told him to wait for a little while longer then he probably would have hunted his little cousin down.

"I'm getting really worried," Kat admitted quietly "This isn't something Cas would do. She wouldn't just forget to call or write... Especially since she promised us."

Hunter turned his glare on her "I've been trying to tell you that for weeks already."

"Hey, she hadn't seen her family for almost a year. Don't you think that they deserved a little time before you go bat shit crazy on her?" The Petrova explained, gesturing violently.

Jeremy and Jenna, who had watched them both over the last few days decided that enough was enough. Both humans were worried for their resident witch, but there was nothing they could do with her all the way in England.

"Why don't you ask Missy to check up on her?" Jeremy questioned the vampires, making them freeze "I mean, she should get into their Manor in England, right?"

Hunter hit himself over the head for not thinking about that himself and called the House elf "Missy? Could you try and check up on Nova? Make sure you're not seen, alright?"

"Yes, Master Orion," Missy nodded enthusiastically. Everyone inside the house was worried for the oldest Malfoy girl. She was part of their family and they were all extremely close. Even the two House elves weren't left out. Missy popped out, following her bond to the girl she practically raised. What she saw was horrifying. Even after knowing what Lord and Lady Malfoy had done in the last war. This was so much worse. She immediately popped closer to the bed her Mistress was lying on and had to hold back her sobs. Nova's hands were tied to the headboard of the King-sized bed and she was completely naked. Her right arm was badly bruised and looked to be broken. The House elf reached out her hand to ghost over what appeared to be welts and broken ribs. Who had done this to her Mistress? She had to get her out now. If Nova stayed here much longer then she might not survive. Missy vanished the binds and popped the injured girl back to the house in Mystic Falls.

As soon as she arrived she could hear gasps from the four people in the room "What happened?" Hunter barked, falling to his knees next to his cousin's head. She was so pale and appeared to have lost quite a bit of blood. Whoever did this would pay. Nova had a lot of people who wanted to protect her, even some of the most powerful vampires in the whole world.

"I's don't know," Missy replied "Mistress Nova was tied to a bed in her former home."

Kat ran a hand through the unconscious girl's matted hair "We have to give her blood, Hunter. This is bad."

"I know," the younger vampire sighed "Maybe we should contact Klaus and Elijah as well?"

"Let's take care of Nova first," Kat pointed out "Elijah and Niklaus are back in town already."

Hunter, who had propped his cousin against his chest, looked up in confusion "Really? When did they return?" He bit his wrist and gently held it to the injured girl's mouth. She felt broken against his muscled back and he shuddered to think what happened to her in the last several weeks.

Jenna approached them carefully, putting a bundle of clothes on the ground "I thought that she might be more comfortable if she isn't completely naked."

"Thank you, Jenna," Hunter smiled as his girlfriend carefully and slowly dressed the unresisting witch.

Several minutes after Nova ingested the vampire blood, her wounds started to heal slightly. Then something happened that no one had ever seen before. She began coughing harshly and even heaved. All of Hunter's blood came pouring from her mouth to the floor as she writhed. What happened? This wasn't a normal reaction for her… Normally, the blood worked just fine.

The vampire doppelgänger jumped to her feet in shock "I'm going to call her Master. Maybe he can help."

"Hurry," Hunter pleaded, steadying the vomiting girl worriedly.

It didn't take long until Katerina was back with an older man in tow, but for the Black vampire it felt like hours "Oh my God," the Potions Master breathed in shock "What?"

"Missy brought her back like this," Hunter explained, looking up at the man "We tried giving her blood, but she threw it up again."

Master Rayburn closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead "She was cursed. Nothing magical or supernatural can heal her right now. There are a few Potions that would still work, but I'm afraid that she'll mostly have to do it the mundane way."

Nova's cousin sighed with a nod "Can you help her heal as far as possible? I… I don't know what to do."

"If someone shows me to her lab then I can gather the Potions in question. If she doesn't have them, I need to go home first," Master Rayburn murmured. He waved his wand, immobilized his injured student and levitated her "Where is her room?"

"Follow me," Hunter gestured, leading the man to his cousin's bedroom. He wanted… no, he needed to help her. She was the only family he had left. What if she didn't survive this?

Nova was taken care of quickly and soon she was resting, covered in bandages from top to bottom. Her right arm was in a white cast that reached from her fingers up to the middle of her upper arm. While Master Rayburn wasn't sure when she would wake up, it shouldn't be too long. They were asked to call the older man if there were any problems at all or if Nova complained about any pains. The four residents of Malfoy Mansion alternated between who would stay with their favourite witch.

In the end, it took two days before Nova woke up for the first time. Jeremy was the one who was sitting next to the bed at the time, trying to complete his homework "Nova," the younger boy gasped, grasping her good hand gently "How do you feel? Do you need anything?"

"Water," she croaked. There wasn't an inch of her that didn't hurt, but it was better than it had been when Grayback was still hurting her.


	27. Mikaelson Ball

It's been five days since I woke up and I was slowly healing from my experience. I had convinced Master Rayburn to get rid of the cast in favour of a wrist brace and a sling. Normally, I wouldn't have complained, but I was already feeling filthy and I didn't want to deal with not being able to wash my arm until it's healed. No, just… No.

Hunter tried to contact Nik and Elijah, but they were always busy. I didn't mind much, because Kat told me that she heard rumours of their siblings being awake again. Apparently Stefan had stolen the coffins after Niklaus set him free and undaggered the three that were sleeping inside. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't curious about them.

When I woke up this morning I found Kat digging through my closet "What are you doing?" I murmured, rubbing my eyes with my left hand.

"We got an invitation not too long ago. The Mikaelson's are holding a ball and I thought you'd like the chance to get out of the house without Hunter hovering over you too much," she explained.

I smiled at her thoughtfulness "Did Hunter actually say that I could go?" My cousin had gotten very protective over me, constantly mothering me to the extremes. I wasn't even allowed to walk down the stairs without someone there to help me.

"He might not have been too happy," the Petrova vampire shrugged sheepishly "But I mentioned you wanting to see Niklaus and Elijah. Eventually he caved." She pulled out a dark blue dress "This one looks nice. What do you think?"

"It should hide the majority of my bruises," I nodded. It had long sleeves which was good and bad at the same time. Bad because I was sure that it would hurt like hell to force my broken arm through the sleeve and good because of the bruises that were still layered on my body. Thankfully most of them were on my arms and my torso, so my legs were safe. The others hadn't really understood why I couldn't just use Potions to heal myself, but the curse Avery put on me before I was given to Greyback stopped everything. This curse was also the reason why I vomited out the vampire blood. If it stayed in my body, there was no way that I would die permanently, so it had to leave. Basically it stopped everything magical and supernatural from affecting me in the sense of helping my body heal. I could still do magic and magic could still be used on me, it just didn't work when the magic was trying to help me in some way. Whoever invented this curse was quite high on my shit list. He or she could really be glad that they were dead already "Can you help me with my hair?"

Katerina stared at me as if I lost my mind "Of course. By the way, it will only be Hunter and the two of us. Jenna and Jeremy wanted a quiet evening tonight."

"Can't blame them for trying to stay out of things," I shrugged and winced lightly when I moved my bad shoulder as well. I should really try to perfect one shouldered shrugs already… "They're after all more than directly involved. When are we leaving anyway?"

Kat glanced at the clock on the bedside table "At four, so if you want to go back to sleep for a few more hours, I'll wake you up at one?"

Even though I just woke up, I knew that I should try to sleep for a bit more. I really wanted to go to the ball and if I didn't sleep now, I'd be too exhausted to get up later on "I think I will. Thanks."

"No problem," she grinned "I'll be in later."

When I was alone again, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Being around family was easy in terms of not acting as if I had been tortured for over five weeks, but I wasn't sure how I would be around all of those people at the ball. With Hunter, Kat, Jenna and Jeremy it was easy because I trusted them to take care of me and to not hurt me.

I got up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom to drink a bit of water before I'd go back to sleep. When I was standing at the sink, I caught my reflection in the mirror and while my face looked like it did before I left for England, it couldn't be more wrong. Some time before I passed out and Missy came for me, I anchored a glamour to my magical core, so that it wouldn't slip when I inevitably fainted. Underneath there was a pretty bad wound from where I pissed of Greyback so much that he took a swipe at me. Granted, it had been about two days before the full moon, but I was still stupid to just dive head first into danger. His claws caught me at the hairline and it went all the way to the side of my jaw. My fingers ghosted over the invisible marks and I shuddered. There had to be a way to get rid of the curse… Somehow. I didn't want to be reminded of what happened every time I look in the mirror and I didn't want to wear a glamour for the rest of my life. Hunter didn't see the glamour in anyway, which I was grateful about. This meant that even vampires couldn't see through it. I showed him, of course, but the most important thing was that Damon and the others wouldn't be able to see. They were a bit unpredictable and probably would try to use my weaknesses against me as soon as they find out what I am.

The next time I woke up, it was to Kat shaking me gently "Cas? Come on, let's get you ready."

I was proven right. Even with the help of Pain Potions, putting on the dress turned out to be excruciating, but I did my best to muffle the sound of my whimpers. Katerina carefully put the wrist brace back on and rearranged the sling to lay on my shoulder comfortably.

"Do you have any preference when it comes to your hair?"

"No," I shook my head. Usually, I didn't do a lot of things with my hair. Only French braiding or putting it in a high ponytail. What my cousin's girlfriend did though looked incredible. She fixed my hair in a half up half down style, curling the stands that spilled down my back. When she was done, she put in some blue and purple flower decorations.

"There," she hummed in satisfaction "You look amazing."

I smiled at her, gazing at my reflection in the mirror in awe. I wasn't ugly, I knew that but this girl who I was seeing was beautiful. It is surprising how much a bit of make-up and a cute hairstyle can change things "Thanks, Kat. I really love it."

"Come on, then," the vampire held out her arm for me to take "Let's go downstairs. Hunter is already waiting." She laughed, assisting me subtly. I was grateful though because it was still a bit difficult to find the strength for stairs after not walking much for six weeks.

Just as Kat said, Hunter was already waiting in the foyer, pacing up and down impatiently "Finally," he muttered "What took you so… Woah." During his rant he looked up at us and froze "You look amazing. Both of you do."

I exchanged an amused glance with the vampire doppelgänger who in turn flashed forward, snogging my cousin "Gross," I teased them "Come on, love-birds. I want to leave now before I have to try and drive by myself."

Hunter laughed at me "You're like a child seeing her parents kiss," he mocked good naturedly "But you're right. We really should be going." My cousin helped me into the backseat on the driver's side and sped off in the direction of Nik's mansion. I was told that he started rebuilding it shortly after I left.

When we arrived at the Mansion there were already quite a few cars parked in the driveway "Cas," Hunter murmured before we entered "Will you come and find one of us if you want to go home?"

"I will," I assured him "But honestly, I'll be fine. I even have some more Pain Potions with me, Ori." I followed the couple through the entrance doors. The room was huge, bigger than my house in any case. It looked amazing though. The decorations were spot on and lavish. Whoever decorated this really knew what they were doing. My eyes started scanning over the crow of people uncomfortably. Around my family I could act however I wanted to act because I trusted them to not hurt me and to take care of me. I didn't have to be scared of anyone hurting me more than I already was. No, I wanted to do this and Hunter deserved a chance to relax tonight. They both deserved to have some fun after having to take care of me.

"Nova," Elijah's voice greeted me from behind. I turned around to see his smile dimming slightly "What happened to you?"

I looked up at him sheepishly "Hello, Elijah." Huh, this had to be the most obvious avoidances I ever tried.

The Original stepped forward, his eyes darkening "Who. Hurt. You?"

"Elijah, calm down," I soothed, pressing my hand to his chest in comfort "I just underestimated how much the Dark Lord wanted me on his side. Also, I'm having a few problems healing…"

Elijah growled and reached out to touch my cheek gently "What happened here?"

I sucked in a startled breath. His fingers touched the exact spot of the claw marks "Damn it," I curse under my breath "Hunter promised that he couldn't see them."

"Can't see what?" Elijah frowned.

"What do you see?" I inquired curiously. If he couldn't see the actual marks then what can he see?

He stepped forward and tilted my head up "It's blurry and there's something underneath, but I can't make it out."

"Who is this, brother?" a drawling voice interrupted us. I turned my head, making my jaw slip out of the older man's hand. Next to us was a young man with brown styled hair and brown eyes. He had several similarities to Elijah, so I'd say that this was one of his siblings… And if I wasn't completely wrong, this had to be Kol. The one Nik and Elijah always compared me to "I'm Kol, darling."

"Well, Kol. I'm Nova." I glanced at the older Original "Is this the one you always compared me to?"

Elijah sighed, when Kol perked up at hearing this "Yes. Oh, and if you think I reacted badly when I saw your injuries then you'll have to hide them from Niklaus in general."

"Oh God, please don't tell me I have to stop Nik from killing anyone. Especially people I would quite happily kill myself," I groaned, ignoring the twinges of pain that were starting up again.

"How do you know my brothers?" Kol asked, his eyebrows raised at my use of Niklaus' nickname.

I shrugged and couldn't hold back the groan of pain. My right arm was throbbing uncomfortably and my legs gave out on me for a second. Elijah caught me carefully and steadied me "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes," I answered breathlessly "I… I'm just due a painkiller." I rummaged in my purse and pulled out a vial of the Pain Potion, knocking back the liquid quickly without much more than a grimace. I leaned against my almost brother and tried to ignore their worried gazes. At the front door, Elena was with a Salvatore brother on each arm "Is it me or is Elena a bit… whorish?"

There was a soft laugh behind me and I craned my neck to see Nik standing there with a younger blonde. Probably Rebekah from their descriptions "I think I'm going to like you… Who are you anyway?"

"Oh, I'm Nova," I introduced myself with a small smile "And to answer Kol's question, I'm the one who broke Nik's curse."

Kol blinked at me "You're a witch? You don't seem like a witch."

My eyes narrowed on him and I glared "Don't ever confuse me for one of those so called 'servants of nature'. If you do, I'm going to quite cheerfully set you on fire."

The youngest of the Mikaelson brothers smirked at me "As much as I hate agreeing with Bekah, I do think that we're going to get along quite well."

Nik groaned in misery "I knew it was a bad idea for them to meet," he stated miserably.

"I know," Elijah agreed with a suffering look "I think we need to keep an eye on that, otherwise they might actually massacre something. That wasn't a suggestion, by the way."

I pouted, feeling more like myself than I had since I was rescued "But 'Lijah," I whined "I thought you wanted to get revenge on who did this to me?"

He rolled his eyes "I do, but not quite yet. We'll just hit them when they least expect it. Now, excuse me." Elijah and Nik both walked off, leaving me with their younger siblings. Oh well, time to get to know them then. Might stop me from getting tired so easily. If not, I needed caffeine.

I blinked after him "Huh. Didn't expect this… Anyway, anyone want to join me in making fun of the current doppelgänger? I need entertainment if I want to actually give my cousin an evening off."

Rebekah raised her eyebrow at me "You don't like her?"

"Have you met the bitch? She actually told the sheriff that I was selling drug and kidnapped her family…"

"Yeah, well," the female Original sniffed "The last one was so much smarter… prettier too."

I nodded "I agree. Kat is awesome. She actually helped me with my hair today… Plus, her fashion sense is way better. As is her taste in accessories. Have you seen the dress she was wearing?"

"She probably shopped with her eyes closed," Bekah scoffed in agreement "Kat is Katerina? She's here?"

"Yup. She's over there with my cousin." I gestured to the corner Hunter and Kat were hiding in "They have something planned. Not quite sure what it is, but at least I can deny any knowledge of whatever it is they planned. Might get me out of trouble for once…" Under my breath I added "If all fails, I'll just point out that I'm injured."

Both Kol and Rebekah were watching me in amusement. They probably knew what I was talking about. You had to milk the situation you were in… Even if it was just to get people to do something for you or to get out of trouble.

"May I ask what happened to you?" Rebekah spoke up hesitatingly.

I bit my lip "Erm, my parents sent me here to… to get away from the current war in the magical community. I underestimated just how much the leader of the Dark side wanted me to join and went back to visit them. I was kidnapped and tortured for a few weeks… That was about a week ago now and I'm still feeling like crap. This ball was actually my chance to get out of the house for once. My cousin is really mothering me for all that it's worth. I can't even walk down the stairs without anyone with me. It's annoying. Sweet but annoying."

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please," Elijah announced from the steps.

"Excuse us," Kol smiled, before he and Rebekah joined their brother on the staircase with the rest of their siblings.

By now all the Originals were standing on the staircase as Elijah addressed the crowd. An older woman walked down from upstairs and I immediately had a bad feeling about her. Who was she? Why did I feel sick all of a sudden?

"Are you alright, Cas?" Hunter whispered as he came to a stop next to me "Do you need to go home?"

I shook my head slowly "I don't think so. There's something wrong with that woman. The feeling is making me sick…"

"Welcome," Elijah said "Thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."

There was some murmur as people found their partners and then the majority of them moved to the ballroom.

"Care to join me, darling?" Kol asked me.

I startled a bit "I told you that I was barely allowed to walk down the stairs alone and you want me to dance?" I smirked in amusement. When he smirked back, I rolled my eyes "Fair enough."

We started dancing with Kol being surprisingly mindful of the sling around my injured limb. I knew that the youngest Mikaelson boy was psychotic at times but just like Nik, he could be gentle. He just didn't wanted to most of the time.

"So you really helped my brother with his curse?"

"Yeah," I nodded "I found a Goblin ritual that unlocks unlawfully bound inheritances. It worked surprisingly well."

The Original hummed "I met your kind once," he murmured quietly "They were quite interesting."

"Really? You should tell me about that meeting some time," I remarked, getting spun into another pair of arms. Niklaus picked up with the gentleness that Kol treated me with before.

He looked down at me "I'm sorry that we were too busy to come and see you, love."

I shook my head lightly "I get it, Nik. I really do and you don't have to be sorry. I'm fine."

"You're obviously not fine," Nik disagreed "Make no mistake, we will talk about this. And not only the vague details you told my brothers."

"Nik…"

"No, Nova," he hissed "You will tell us what happened and we'll kill however did this. There's not going to be any discussion about it."

I groaned and rested my head on his chest "I'm not trying to stop you. Hell, I'll help but I need to heal first."

"That doesn't mean that you can't talk about it with us, Cassie. You're practically my sister. Please?"

"Fine," I sighed in defeat "I'll try."

The Hybrid nodded "Alright. That's all I'm asking."

After the first dance, I walked back out into the foyer, feeling exhausted. From what I've seen Hunter and Kat were having fun and I couldn't ruin that. Not now and not ever.

"Where's your date?" Kol asked his sister who was glaring at nothing.

"Flirting with his ex," she huffed.

I joined them "Who did you ask?"

"Matt Donovan."

I smiled at her "Matt's awesome. He was the first one I met when I moved here… The only downside is that he's too close to the doppelgänger and her judgement of random people… Hell, Nik didn't even do anything to her and she is spewing shit about him being evil and trying to kill her."

"Wait, Nik didn't need her for the ritual?" Bekah frowned.

I shook my head "No. I used a Goblin ritual. I only needed a chant and a Potion to free his werewolf."

"So he could have broken the curse without the ritual?"

"Technically, yes. The thing is that the ritual was only written down two centuries ago and apart from the Goblins not many people could read Gobbledegook," I explained and tried to hold back a yawn "So, what were you doing before I completely monopolized the conversation?"

Rebekah turned to her brother "I brought Matt here to kill him. If he dies, Elena suffers. But I've already been scolded once so I was hoping you'd help your baby sister out."

"And spit right in the face of mother's rules?" Kol grinned excitedly "I'm in."

"You want to kill Matt? Wouldn't one of the Salvatores be a better choice?" I blinked "Actually, no. If I know anything about them, one will appear once you get started." Then I turned around "I haven't heard what you planned. I'm going to find my cousin. I think that this evening is almost over for me. It was nice to meet you though."

"I hope we'll see each other again soon, darling," Kol smirked, kissing the back of my hand.

I snorted "You're brothers are going to drag me here tomorrow to interrogate me so yeah, I think we'll see each other soon." I walked off to where Hunter was still dancing with Katerina "Hey. Can we go?"

My cousin turned around immediately "Of course. I'm honestly surprised how long you held out."

I yawned "Actually, I was trying not to ruin your evening. You have been taking care of me for a week and you deserved some time off from me."

"Never think that," Kat said "We love you, Cassie. You're family and all of us would do everything in our power to make sure the others are safe."

As soon as we were outside we heard a body dropping behind us. Kol was lying on the floor with Damon beating him up before the younger vampire snapped the Original's neck. Stefan came running out of a door "Damon! Are you crazy?"

The rest of the Mikaelsons and Elena came out from the opened door to see what was going on. I freed myself from Hunter's grip and kneeled down next to the temporarily dead Original. I pushed some magic into him, healing his snapped neck and restarting his heart. Kol gasped, bolting upright and knocking me over in the process.

"Ouch," I groaned when I not only landed on some bruises but also jostled my arm.

Hunter was next to me in a second and carefully picked me up "We're going home now. This isn't normal for your Potions to stop working after only an hour." I nodded and buried my face in his shoulder, almost falling asleep right then "We'll be over tomorrow to talk about the last month and a half, Niklaus."

"Take care of her, will you?" the Hybrid asked, concern dripping from his voice.

"You'd have to kill me if you want me to leave her alone when she's hurting. She's my cousin, my family and family does mean everything to us."

Elijah smiled lightly "Always and Forever?"

"Exactly," Hunter nodded.


	28. Cure?

It was early in the morning after the Mikaelson Ball when the fireplace in the Malfoy Mansion lit up a fluorescent green and Master Rayburn stepped out.

Hunter shot up "Master Rayburn?"

"Mr. Black," the old man greeted "I believe I have found a way to help your cousin. A curse specialist from Japan contacted me when I asked around in the community. He's at my house at the moment."

The Black vampire gaped in surprise "You're serious?"

Master Rayburn nodded "Yes. We can either do it here or you need to bring Ms. Malfoy to me."

"I think we should do it here," Hunter murmured "Cas is still sleeping. She was exhausted yesterday and she used quite a bit of her magic."

"Why?"

He got a sheepish grin as an answer "Well, she woke up a vampire after his neck was snapped. Without a wand…"

"That would do it," the older man sighed and ran a hand through his receding hair "You get your cousin down here and I'll be right back with the curse breaker."

"Yes, of course." Hunter waited until the wizard had disappeared back through the fireplace and flashed up to his baby cousin's room. Nova was curled up, cradling her arm to her chest in her sleep "Cas? Cassie. You need to wake up for me."

The injured girl stirred, blinking up at the vampire disorientated "Hunter? What's going on?"

"Your Master is here. He found a curse breaker to help you, little one," he murmured, running his hand through her fair hair "They're waiting downstairs."

She nodded, still sleepy beyond words but somewhat more awake now "Can you help me? I'm still tired."

Hunter inhaled sharply. Nova wasn't one to ask for help which means that she must really feel bad today. At least it wouldn't be much longer until she could use magic to heal her arm and the bruises she still had all over. He carefully slid his arms under her legs and around her back. Within a second they were both downstairs where Master Rayburn was already waiting with a tall Japanese man.

"Ah, Nova," Master Rayburn greeted with a gentle smile "This is Master Hirayama. He's a curse breaker. Apparently, the curse that was placed on you originated in Japan about two centuries ago… He can break it and then I can give you a Potion to heal the breaks. Is that alright?"

Nova looked at both of the men intently before she nodded "How long would it take? We have to go somewhere soon."

Hirayama stepped forward and bowed in respect "I have heard great things about you, Miss Malfoy. About the curse… We're talking twenty minutes at best, an hour at most."

"Can you start then?" she questioned quietly, her features drawn and tired "I'm really sick of not being able to use my arm."

"Then let's start," he agreed "Put her down on the couch and both of you, step back." As soon as they did what the Japanese Master told them, he started chanting, waving his wand over the girl in complicated patterns. True to his word, it took him about twenty-five minutes and once he was done, Hirayama let out a long breath "It is done."

Hunter looked at Nova who was half conscious by now "Thank you, sir. What do you want as payment?"

"My Ministry sent me here, actually. They hoped that Potions Mistress Malfoy could supply a certain number of doses of her Potion for us," he murmured, shifting uncomfortably.

"I will brew as many batches as you need," Nova whispered "Once I'm back to full strength again that is. How many doses do you need?"

Master Hirayama blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected her to actually agree "You will receive a letter from someone soon. Thank you so much."

"I should thank you," she shook her head "As soon as you sent me the letter and I'm able to brew, you'll get your doses. It shouldn't take longer than three weeks in total. Depending on how much you need. It was nice to meet you."

Once the Japanese Master had disappeared back through the fireplace, the girl's own teacher stepped forward "Here. Drink these. One is a Bone Mending Potion and the other one is a Sleeping Potion. I think it's better if you sleep through it."

"Thank you, Master," Nova smiled thankfully and took the two vials from him.

Hunter sat down next to her "I'll take you over to the Mikaelson Mansion later. Do you want to go there now or once you wake up?"

"You want to spend some time with Kat, don't you?" She immediately saw through him and approved "Bring me there now. I don't want to be the reason you can't do things anymore. After I take these, I'll be fine in a few hours."

"Then drink them and I'll explain to Niklaus."

Nova grinned at him cheekily and downed the disgusting looking Potions. Once the vials were empty, she grimaced "I really should find a way to make those taste…" Even before she could finish the sentence, the girl was already asleep.

Hunter hummed in approval "Those work fast."

Master Rayburn chuckled "They do indeed. I will take my leave now. Should any more problems arise, you know how to contact me."

The Black vampire picked up his cousin again and took her out to the car and once she was secured in the passenger seat, he was on his way towards Niklaus' house. It took them ten minutes to reached the huge mansion.

Before he even put the car in park, the door was already open and Elijah was standing next to the passenger door "She's sleeping?"

Hunter nodded "Be careful with her arm. Cas wanted me to bring her here now. Just before we left, she took two Potions. One is healing her arm and the other put her to sleep… She'll be fine once she wakes up." That said he looked up at the Original "I hope it's alright that I brought her now? If not then we'll be back once she's awake."

Elijah waved him off "No, no. You have plans with Katerina, do you not? It's the only reason I can think of why she would ask to be brought here this way."

"You're good," the younger vampire laughed "Yes. I have plans. Can I leave her in your hands then?"

It wasn't Elijah's voice who answered him "Go," Nik commanded and scooped his almost-sister into his arms without a second thought "Have fun."

"I will," Hunter smiled "I don't have to tell you to be sensible when talking to her, do I?"

"She's going to be fine," Elijah assured the worried Black.

Hunter took another long look at his cousin and then drove off, back to where his girlfriend was already waiting.


	29. Comfort and Problems

The first thing I heard when I woke up was Nik whining "Come on, Elijah. She has been sleeping for hours now. Don't tell me you don't want to know what happened."

"I do," his older brother replied "But I also know that Nova probably needs all the sleep she can get."

I grumbled under my breath "Can't you two just shut up?" As far as I could feel, I was lying on someone's lap with a thick blanket on top of me. I turned my head, squinting up at Elijah sleepily.

He ran a hand through my hair gently "How are you doing?"

I shrugged and froze in surprise. My arm didn't hurt anymore… I experimentally bent and stretched it, testing my range of motion "Well, my arm seems healed at least… I'm alright, Elijah."

"Then you can tell us what the fuck happened to you," Niklaus demanded harshly.

I rolled my eyes at him "I'm not telling you until you calm down, Nik. This isn't a nice story and I won't have you running off to kill them. Not yet." The Hybrid crossed his arms and glared at me silently. There was no way I was letting him take my revenge from me. Greyback and Voldemort were mine "You don't scare me, Niklaus. Either you agree to calm the fuck down or I'm out of here."

"I really like you," Kol laughed from the doorway of the living room "You know how to talk to my brother." He looked at both of his older brothers' faces and raised an eyebrow "Why are they so mad anyway?"

My lips tilted up into a tiny smirk "I won't tell them what happened but seriously… it's not too important. It's over and done with."

"It does matter," Elijah corrected quietly "If you won't tell us then at least show me what you're hiding." His fingertips trailed over my left cheek, barely touching my skin.

I winced and pulled away "It's nothing. Really."

"Darling, even I can see that it's something," Kol cut in "If you tell them now then maybe it won't be too bad?"

"You're joking, right?" I laughed "There's no way I can stop them if I tell them anything."

Nik cleared his throat in annoyance "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here, sister. Just show us."

I squeezed my eyes closed and took a deep breath. Before I could chicken out, I pulled my magic back, revealing the claw marks to the three vampires in the room "Happy?"

In a flash, Nik was in front of me "That's from a wolf," he remarked quietly "Nova?"

Tears sprung to my eyes "What do you want me to say, Nik? That they tortured the hell out of me? Beat me, marked me? Hell, that bastard didn't even stop there… He…" I shook my head violently and wiped at my eyes in annoyance. I so didn't want to start crying but… It was all too fresh. Why did I have to be so stupid? If I hadn't gone back to England, all the shit wouldn't have happened. My parents were hurt because of me and I wasn't even sure how they were doing now.

Arms wrapped around me, pulling me against a hard chest "I'm sorry," Nik mumbled into my hair.

I buried my face into his shirt and shuddered, tears starting to streak down my cheeks "It's alright. I'm fine now…"

"As much as I hate agreeing with Niklaus," Elijah spoke up with a teasing lilt "You're not fine. Yes, you're safe but you're far from fine." I was pulled to sit on Nik's lap with Elijah next to us. In this moment, I was so glad that I had the support of the family I had made for myself. They were helping me so much with just being there.

"How the hell did you do that?" the youngest brother blinked in surprise "I have never seen any of them act this way with anyone."

I snorted tearfully "I grow on people."

"You do indeed," Elijah murmured, ruffling my hair "She pushed us to talk and trust me when I say that it actually made me understand Niklaus better."

Kol tilted his head "How? No offense, Nik but you daggered us and kept us in coffins."

"Mikael," the Hybrid replied "I was trying to protect you… Nova made me realize that I went about it the wrong way but I really only had your protection in mind. I'm sorry, Kol. Really."

"Huh. You really are something else, little witch."

I smiled at him, getting rid of the remainder of my tears "I like to think so. About killing them… I will be going back there but I'm not strong enough yet."

"You want to be changed?" Elijah questioned.

"Hey, my whole family almost exclusively consists of vampires and it's not like I will lose my powers, so yeah. Why not?" I shrugged "Hey, where's your sister?"

The guys shrugged "She wasn't here after the Ball ended…"

It was an hour later when I was curled up next to Nik that Rebekah came back. Elijah had vanished upstairs some time ago and Kol was staring at me. Bit creepy if you ask me but it's not like I could stop him.

"Well, well, well," Kol drawled, walking over to his younger sister "There's our girl." He stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"Get out of my way, Kol," the girl hissed in annoyance.

The youngest Mikaelson boy didn't let it bother him though "Out all night," he teased "What a scandal! I trust you did better than that commoner? Matt, was it?"

"Hey," I exclaimed "Matt is my friend."

"Sorry, darling," Kol grinned unapologetically.

I rolled my eyes "No, you're not. It's nice to see you again, Rebekah."

"You too," she sighed and turned to glare at her brother "If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth." I felt Nik shift a bit, probably trying to hide a grin "Don't start, Nik."

He held up his hands in surrender "I didn't say anything."

"I'm bored," Kol groaned, flopping down into the armchair he had occupied previously "You can only stare at someone for so long until it gets boring…" I hissed and reached out with my magic, trying to inconspicuously change his hair colour "Don't try, darling."

I threw him my most innocent look but didn't stop "I have no idea what you're talking about, Kol."

Rebekah laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders when I succeeded in turning the Originals hair a bright pink "Oh God, I have to so keep you around."

"What?" Kol asked as we all laughed at him. His eyes narrowed at me "What did you do?"

"Now, what are you talking about, Kol?" I snickered, not even trying to talk my way out of it. I was the only one in the room to be able to do something like that.

Nik's lips twitched "Why don't you look into a mirror, brother?"

It only took a few seconds for the younger brother to be back in front of me "Change it back," he demanded.

"Why would I?" I smirked.

"It's the polite thing to do," Kol remarked, stepping even closer to me until there was barely an inch between us.

I raised an eyebrow "And you staring at me for over an hour was considered polite?" I shrugged and ran my and over his hair lightly "There you go."

"Do I want to know?" Elijah's voice came from the doorway, looking between his youngest brother and me with a confused expression.

"No," Kol shook his head while I grinned "I turned his hair…" The rest of the sentence was muffled as the Original grabbed a hold of my mouth, pulling me against his chest "Nothing. She did nothing."

"Right," the older Mikaelson shook his head and held up something in his hand "I found this in mother's study."

I tapped Kol's arm and he lowered the hand that was around my mouth, the other one stayed in place around my waist though "Is that sage?"

"Burnt sage," Elijah nodded "She was doing a privacy spell."

Rebekah rolled her eyes with a shrug "You know she fancies such things. Why don't you ask Finn? He's been doting on her."

"I don't trust Finn. He hates what we are, he always has," my almost-brother murmured, running a hand through his hair.

Rebekah glared at her brother "That's not true. And as for mother, she returned for one reason, to make our family whole. She loves us. What trouble are you looking to find?"

Nik cleared his throat "Bekah, don't you think it's weird though? How she forgave me? I mean, I killed her…"

"Nik…"

"No," the Hybrid snarled "Elijah is right. Something is up."

Kol who had been silent up until now tightened his arm around my waist "Didn't she ask to see the doppelgänger yesterday? That would explain the sage. But what did she need from her?"

"Shit," Rebekah curse, her eyes widening "I think you're right… Damon was smug… Too smug."

I grimaced "You slept with Damon? I mean, he's okay I guess but a bit too pro Elena if you get what I mean. The Scooby Gang are the reason all of the shit is happening. They are the ones who constantly attack us… I don't get it."

"Neither do we," Elijah agreed "We have to find out what they are planning. Anyone has an idea?"

"I might," I spoke up pensively "I mean, the only thing I have to do is get into a fight with someone who knows what's going on. The Grill?"

"The Grill," Nik agreed "Elijah, Bekah, you'll stay here. Kol, Nova and I will check things out. I'll call you as soon as we know something."

"Thank you," the two nodded.


	30. All My Children

I got into the backseat with Nik in front of me driving and Kol in the passenger seat. We were on our way to the Grill to see if we can find out what the Original Witch and the Scooby Gang were planning. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good… As soon as we arrived, we heard two people at the bar. One was the vampire Hunter and the other one I have never met. It was an older woman though.

"Wait… you think the killer's a… a vampire?" Alaric frowned.

The woman shrugged "There are no other suspects. It's the obvious conclusion."

"Oh come on now," Nik rolled his eyes "Let's not go blaming the new family in town just because you lot have got yourself a killer at large. Don't mind us. My brother and I are just here to let off some steam with a friend of ours, right Kol?"

"Right," the younger of the two nodded, eyeing the woman with disdain.

While they had the human's attention on them, I subtly entered the male's mind. If anyone here knew what was going on, then it was him. After all, if Damon knew then so would Alaric. When I came to the memories in question, I had to fight hard not to react in any way. Seriously? It just made it clear to me why Wiccans were seen as the bad guys most of the time. Hell, I doubt many of the real Witches and Wizards would do something like that. Not even the ones siding with the Dark. Of course, there were always exceptions like the Dark Lords and their followers but still. It was only very few. With Wiccans, I was hard pressed to find one that I liked… most of them were very prejudiced for no reason at all. Most hated vampires and they didn't see that nature wouldn't have allowed it to happen if she didn't want it. Vampires were part of the balance in the world… If they stopped existing then chaos would rule the world. I ripped myself out of the Hunter's mind none too gently and nodded at the two Mikaelson's next to me inconspicuously. I knew what we came here for and I knew who was involved.

As soon as the two humans were done, I hissed in annoyance "How can a single group of people be this stupid?"

"What's going on, Nova?" Nik questioned quietly, ordering us all a round of drinks.

I clutched at the glass of too weak liquor and frowned "Your mother plans to kill you."

"Don't worry about that," Kol grinned, sipping at the bourbon "There's no way she can actually kill us."

"You're wrong," I mumbled "At the Ball… She put Elena's blood into the toast and linked all of you together. What happens to one, happens to all. Technically, she needs to kill only one of you and I think you can guess who volunteered."

"Finn," Nik groaned "Dammit… Have you found out when she plans on doing it?"

I nodded lightly "Tonight. I think they're planning on distracting you, so you won't be able to interfere with the ritual. If I saw right then your mother is at the Old Witch House… Wherever that is." We were interrupted by Caroline entering the Grill. The timing was way too convenient to be a coincidence "Don't go with her, Nik," I breathed, so only Niklaus and Kol could hear me. There was no way, I would just simply stand back and mess everything up. The Mikaelsons were under my protection just as much as I was under theirs. All of the Mikaelsons… That included Finn. I only had to find out why he wanted to die so badly. Everyone had a reason to stay, you only had to find them.

"I remember her from last night," Kol grinned, playing along with the charade "She looks like a tasty little thing."

Niklaus rolled his eyes at his younger brother's teasing "Say another word and I'll tear out your liver. Caroline!"

The blonde didn't look happy to see him at all but there was a hint of triumph in her eyes, hidden quite well but obvious if you were adept at reading people. Legilimency was extremely useful in finding out who was honest and who wasn't. It was one of the best things I have ever learned together with Potions and Occlumency "Oh, it's you," she muttered.

"Join us for a drink?" Nik offered politely.

Caroline barely held back a sneer "Mm, I'd rather die of thirst but thanks." She turned around and stalked away.

I exchanged a look with the brothers and shrugged "So, what happened while I was gone, Nik?"

"Didn't Hunter tell you already?" he questioned, completely forgetting about the blonde who was now standing at the entrance in confusion.

I laughed lightly "Hunter is way too protective. He didn't want to tell me anything in fear of it hurting me more."

"He seems to really care for you," Kol murmured in awe. While he had his siblings, I could see that he felt like an outsider. From what Elijah and Nik told me they handled the situation with Kol wrong. He was the youngest boy and that made it a bit weird. Finn – if I had been told correctly – had always been rather close to his mother and spent more time with her than with his siblings. Nik and Elijah liked to fight back when they were human and together with Henrik and Rebekah they made the vow of 'Always and Forever'. After the youngest Mikaelson died and they turned, they renewed the vow once more without Kol or Finn. I do like Nik but he treated his family like shit but with good intentions nevertheless. The least I could do was to give him time to make up for it.

"Well, I killed Mikael after he was awakened by Damon, I think. Stefan stole the coffins after I set him free and Elijah and I undaggered the others as soon as I had them back. That's the short version of it," Nik shrugged "The Hybrid's transition was smooth as well. Thanks for that, by the way. And for telling me to give them a chance to say no. They are a lot more loyal than they would have been otherwise."

I grinned "See, I'm all-knowing after all."

Nik huffed and pulled my hair childishly "Yes, oh great and powerful Nova. I apologize for ever doubting you."

"Good," I teased with mock arrogance "Make sure that it never happens again."

Kol laughed at out interaction before he sobered up "I really can't get over the fact how much you changed him, little witch. I'd almost call that a miracle."

I smiled at the younger brother gently "There's a lot that you don't know about your brother and the other way around, Kol. Maybe you should give them a chance? They realized that their behaviour might have been a bit… er…"

"We treated you like shit, Kol," Nik cut in "All of us. Elijah, Rebekah and me. We left you out from the beginning and I can't tell you how sorry I am about that. Not to mention the daggers. I really only did that to protect you all from Mikael."

Kol looked down at his drink "I can't say that I don't understand that… somewhat but I can't forgive you either, Nik. Not yet at least."

"It's more than I deserve," the Hybrid shrugged with a smile to his brother.

I clapped and knocked the rest of my glass back "So, how about some fun before the big showdown?"

"What do you have in mind?" Kol raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged "No idea."

"How about we go and play some pool?" he suggested, looking at Nik for permission.

The werepire raised his hands "I'm not your babysitter, Kol. Just make sure that nothing happens to Nova and you're good."

"I'm sitting right here," I groaned in annoyance "What's pool anyway?"

"How have I been daggered for the past century and still know more than you?" Kol snorted, pulling me from the barstool and over to one of the green tables in one corner.

I sighed and tugged my hair behind my ear. Maybe it was time to cut it again. I never really liked the length of my hair but my mother forbade me from cutting it shorter than mid-back "I haven't had too much to do with No-Maj stuff. We were mostly focused on studying at the Boarding School I went to and in the holidays I traveled a lot. There was never much time to learn about everything they invented. Also, you're older than me. Has to count for something, right?"

"I guess we can help each other then," he proposed, handing me one of the cues or whatever they were called.

I smirked at the Original vampire "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Is it working?" Kol grinned.

I tilted my head in amusement "Maybe," I shrugged "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Now… What is it that I have to do here?"

With that Kol explained to me about the importance of the balls and what to do with the cue. He might have been standing closer to me than strictly necessary but who was I to complain? It wasn't like I was completely immune to his charm. He was actually a pretty nice change, especially after what happened in England. Maybe he could help me if he was seriously interested in me. Oh well, only time will tell, I suppose.

"This game is stupid," I laughed when I missed for the eighth time in a row "How are you so good at that?"

Kol – who had been trying to hide his laughter from me since the beginning – stepped closer to me again "I'm a vampire, darling. You should ask why can't I do."

"I'm pretty sure you can't knit," I pointed out jokingly "At least it would be bloody weird if you did."

The Original's arms wrapped themselves around my waist "You really are something else. No wonder my brothers like you so much."

I looked up at him curiously "You're different from what they told me, you know. Why are you treating me like this?"

"You're interesting," the vampire murmured "And there were so many sides to you… It fascinates me."

I cleared my throat, trying to blush at his words "We only met yesterday, Kol."

"Life's too short to wait," he pointed out.

"Usually I'd agree with you but you're a vampire. A thousand-year-old vampire. I…"

He cut me off "No, listen to me, okay? I came to the realization that beating around the bush is annoying and useless. You never know what will happen. Mother just proved that to me once more."

I sighed and leaned my head against his chest lightly "I'll make you a deal. If you still feel like this after we dealt with your mother then you get to take me out on a date. We can see how it goes from there."

"Alright," Kol nodded, leaning down to peck my cheek.

I only now realized that Alaric was now behind Kol, holding something in his hand. Then, suddenly, Nik was there as well, twisting the Hunter's hand with a sneer "You shouldn't have done that." The Hybrid pocketed the silver dagger and grabbed the Hunter, throwing him out of the back door of the Grill. We followed him quickly, Kol shielding me unconsciously when he saw that the Salvatore brothers were waiting for us "I'm afraid your little plan didn't work out the way you wanted to," Nik smirked, stalking towards Damon.

"Leave him!" Elijah's voice cut in, right when Niklaus was about to attack the older Salvatore "We still need them, Niklaus." He walked down the stairs, clutching a phone in his hand "You tell me where the witches are or I'll have my sister kill Elena right now."

I stepped around Kol "They're at the Old Witch House," I told the Original quietly. Elijah nodded and threw a look at the younger vampires that I couldn't interpret. A second later, I was scooped up and the world blurred around me.

When Kol let me down, the four of us were pretty far into the woods, most likely close to where we had to be but I honestly had no idea "You blackmailed them?" I asked Elijah quietly "Why?"

"Backup plans are always useful," he replied with a one-shouldered shrug.

I considered it for a moment "I might have an idea. Your mother still doesn't know about me, so there's the element of surprise, right? I also might be able to do something about Finn. Everyone has something worth living for…"

"You think it will work?" Nik questioned "What do you plan on doing to mother?"

"It depends. Do you want her to go out the easy way or the hard way? I don't mind a bit of torture and bloodshed along the way…" I smirked "Since she's your mother, I offer you the quick alternative. Two words and she'll be dead with no chance of coming back."

It was then that we reached the area where a huge pentagram was drawn onto the ground "My sons," the evil witch smiled pleasantly "Come forward."

Finn reached back with one of his arms "Stay beside me, mother."

Esther walked into the pentagram "It's okay. They can't enter."

"That's lovely," Kol sneered, approaching the pentagram carefully. The torches around it flared up, driving him back "We're stuck out here while the favourite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn."

"Be quiet, Kol," their mother admonished "Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine."

Elijah stepped to my side "Whatever you think of us, killing your own children will be an atrocity."

"My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago," Esther replied with hatred in her voice. Mother of the year that one, I swear.

"Enough," Nik rolled his eyes in annoyance "All this talk is boring me. End this now, Mother, or I'll send you back to Hell… or Nova will."

The Wicca barely glances at me before she started her rant "For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you. You're a curse on this Earth."

I couldn't hold back the snort anymore "Oh, cry me a river, why don't you," I spat at the despicable woman "Vampires were supposed to exist. They're part of the natural balance now and you won't be able to change it."

"What does a human like you know of it?" she sneered.

I pulled out my wand with a raised eyebrow "Whoever said that I am human?"

Esther laughed at the implication "You really think that you scare me with that stick in your hand? You're a child playing at knowledge. Real witches do not need a twig to do magic."

My only reaction was a casual wave of my wand, which made a tree behind her blow to smithereens "You were saying? It's me who is the real witch here. You're nothing but an abomination. Your precious spirits are misleading you. Where did you get the idea to turn your children into vampires, hm?" She paled a bit, eyes widening "That's what I thought. You were told to do the ritual, am I right? You see, you were chosen by Mother Magic to create a new species to bring balance to the world once more. It's a pity that you were corrupted by those spirits of yours." After I was done with her, I turned to the oldest Mikaelson with a small frown "You are better than this, Finn. Do you know what happens when an Original dies?"

It wasn't Finn who answered me but Nik "What do you mean, Nova?"

"When one of you dies then everyone you have turned dies with you. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you turned someone before, right?"

"Sage," Finn croaked, wobbling on his feet a bit.

I tilted my head "You love Sage? If you want me to then I can help you find her. You have to understand that what you're trying to do is wrong. You were meant to be a vampire… As bad as that sounds, it really isn't. Please, Finn. Think about what you're planning on doing with your sacrifice. You would kill your younger siblings along with over a million of others… Can you really live with that? You would be trapped on the Other Side, seeing everything you did."

The oldest Original looked to be deep in thoughts and actually took a few steps back from his mother "You can really help me find Sage?"

"I swear on my magic," I vowed, magic flashing around me for a second "I'm bound by my word now."

"The easy way," Kol suddenly spoke up, making my head snap towards him.

I smiled and bowed my head in acknowledgment "If that is your wish. If I were you, Finn, I'd step back a bit more. Your mother won't survive to see the full hour." As soon as Finn scrambled backward, I pointed my wand at the cowering witch. I snorted when she tried to use her mind tricks on me "This won't work. Sorry to disappoint…  _Avada Kedavra._ " A green light shot out of my wand and hit the Original Witch straight in the chest. Not a second late, she crumbled to the floor, dead "She won't be able to come back now. Her soul isn't on the Other Side… It was sent straight to Hell."

Silence reigned around me and I took a deep breath "I'll leave you to talk… And I mean talk, Niklaus. You and Elijah know what I'm speaking of." My gaze caught that of the oldest Mikaelson and I gave him a small smile "I will locate Sage tomorrow. Have something of hers ready, it's easier if it has meaning but anything will do. Elijah will bring you to my home. I might even be able to unlink you. I'll look into it. Good night."

"Nova," Nik called out before I was out of earshot "Thank you. How much do I owe you now?"

I shook my head "You don't owe me anything, Nik. You're part of my family… I'm sure you know what that means by now. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, I twisted around, apparating back to Malfoy Mansion and straight into my room. The day has been more than exhausting, especially since I wasn't a hundred percent yet. So much happened in the space of a few hours. The Mikaelson siblings were on their way to mend their relationship, Kol expressed his interest in me and their scheming mother was dead.


	31. Sage

It's been around half an hour since I had half passed out on the living room couch. After promising Finn that I'd look for Sage, I spent hours, trying to find the right spell. The normal locator ones don't usually work on non-humans without the addition of their blood, which was a pain in the ass. I was dozing a bit when I heard Hunter leaving to open the door.

"She's in the living room but if you value your life, you'll be quiet," my cousin told whoever was at the door "Cas only went to sleep a little while ago."

"How is it that we can enter?" Kol's voice questioned curiously.

I could imagine my cousin's shrug "I think she invited you in already but you'll have to ask her. Come on through."

Footsteps came closer to where I was lying and I blinked my eyes open tiredly "Hey," I murmured, sitting up.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Nik raised an eyebrow.

I sighed "I want to but I can't." My gaze fell on Finn and I gestured for them to sit down "I found a spell that should work but I can't be too sure. The only thing I need is something of hers."

The oldest of the siblings nodded with wide eyes and handed me a necklace "It was hers," he told me "She gave it to me shortly before I was daggered."

"Thanks," I smiled, cradling it in my palm "Again, I won't promise anything but if this doesn't work then there's something else I can try out."

"It's alright," Finn nodded nervously, throwing a look at his younger siblings. It seemed as if they were a little less hostile today than they were yesterday but I think Finn and Nik still had a bit of work to do until they could be a real family again.

I grabbed the map from the table along with my journal and the necklace. After I spread it out on the floor, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, starting the chant. After ten minutes of continuously talking in Gobbledegook, I saw flashes of a familiar city. New York…? Sage was in New York. As soon as the images ended, I broke off with a gasp, crumbling to the floor.

Kol was by my side in an instant "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Calm down," I panted, slowing catching my breath "I'm fine. I think I know where she is but… well…" I broke off with an embarrassed grin "How about this. According to the spell she's in New York. There's an amazing magical alley there and I need to go to the bookstore… You have two options. Either I can take you with me or I can go and fetch her." I glanced up at Kol "Planned on kidnapping you as well. Interested?"

"Magical Alley?" Kol smirked "Hell yeah. I'm in. Plus, I seem to remember me owing you a date?"

Finn was still staring at me silently, contemplating what to do "You'll bring her back?" he questioned quietly.

I nodded "You have my word. I can't promise how long it'll take but I will bring her back. Just write me a letter or something to take her. Elijah can give you stuff to write it on, right? I just need to shower and change."

"Can I come?" the youngest male Original flirted.

I laughed and shook my head "You wish, big boy. I'll be back in half an hour or so." Exactly half an hour later, I was showered and dressed in a short white floral lace dress. Now that my bruises were gone, I finally felt comfortable wearing my shorter dresses again. It was really fascinating how much I didn't like wearing pants – they felt way too constricting.

When I was back downstairs, I saw everyone gathered in the living room, talking. Jenna and Jeremy were there as well, although they haven't been around too often recently. At least, I hadn't seen Jenna much when I was confined to my bed "I see you're getting along," I grinned, stepping closer to the sofas they were sitting on "Is that the letter?" I gestured to a piece of paper in Finn's hand.

"Yes," the oldest brother nodded, holding it out to me.

I grabbed it and tilted my head in Kol's direction, only to see him staring at me with wide eyes "Really?" I snorted, waving my hand in front of the Original's face "I think just for that we're going to apparate."

Hunter winced "Do you want to run him off?"

"No," I smirked "Just trying to show him Wizarding transport, you know? I would use the Floo but since it's an international connection, I don't want to chance Kol ending up in Harbin or somewhere decidedly less pleasant."

"Portkey?" the Black vampire questioned.

I shrugged "I like apparating more. It doesn't feel… too weird."

"That's only if you are the one doing the apparating. Side-longs feel like shit."

"Maybe I just want to see if he'll faint," I laughed, throwing an amused look at the vampire.

Kol pouted exaggeratedly "Now, that's not nice, darling."

"Have I ever given you the illusion that I was? Come on now," I clapped "Otherwise we're not going to get through everything I want to do."

He shrugged, getting up to join me "What do I have to do?"

"Nothing," I said, quickly grabbing a hold of his arm, twisting to apparate away. The usual sensation of being sucked through a straw enveloped me before it all stopped. My feet hit the ground next to the New York Gringotts building.

"What the hell?" Kol groaned, picking himself off the ground with a small glare "A bit of warning would have been nice, darling."

I shrugged with a small grin "Well, Hunter and I did talk about it beforehand, didn't we?"

The vampire huffed but couldn't quite stop the grin "So, what now?"

"I thought we could go to the bookstore now, then find Sage and after that maybe get something to eat?" I proposed, slipping my hand into his.

"What do we do with Sage during the date?" Kol frowned in confusion.

I raised an eyebrow "I could either make her a portkey or she could pack her stuff and meet us an hour or two later. Anyway, bookstore first. There are a lot of magical and non-magical books. The good thing in America is that you can pay with non-magical money. Opposed to Britain, they don't have their own currency."

"I never was the biggest book fan," the Original grumbled under his breath.

I hit the back of his head "I heard that. I'll try to hurry, okay? Be glad that I know what I need. The last time I was here I spent around six hours in there." During my explanation, I pointed to the huge building that was full of the goodness that was books.

"All of that?" Kol gaped, blinking at the eight-floor building "Holy…"

I laughed and pulled his hand to get him moving "We'll be out in twenty minutes, I promise. Come on, it'll be fun." Once we were inside, I lead him towards the Ritual section, letting my eyes wander over the book titles "Did you know that there's a book about your family?"

"There is? Does it say how awesome I am?" he teased.

"Nope," I snorted "Something about you being a… what did it say? 'Homicidal manic with behavioural problems' or something of that sort. Elijah has a copy, I believe. It's basically about the real origin of your kind of vampire along with the magical kind." I handed the vampire  _Advanced Blood Rituals_ along with  _Goblin Rituals_. Next, I made my way to the language section to find some more books about some of the languages I wanted to learn.  _Mermish for Beginners, Complex Runes_ and a journal that was written by the current King of the Goblin Nation found their way into Kol's arms.

"Why do I have to carry your books?" Kol complained jokingly.

I poked his side "Not everyone has super strength, you know. But I'm done now… The rest I can probably order."

"Finally."

I rolled my eyes at his impatience "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Because, darling," Kol murmured, leaning closer to me "You're wearing that delectable dress and that guy over there is staring at you."

"Are you… jealous?" I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head in amusement.

The Original squinted "I don't get jealous."

"Of course not," I nodded sarcastically, leaning closer to him. My lips ghosted over his before I pulled back again "Let's go. The faster we pay and find Sage, the faster we can go for a walk in Central Park or something."

I shrunk my purchases and stored them in my shoulder bag. Sadly, dresses usually didn't have these and I always had to take along a bag or something. Outside of the store, Kol pulled me closer to his side "Do you actually know where Sage is going to be?"

"Not yet," I murmured, pulling out my wand "Point me Sage," I said clearly, picturing the woman as best as I could. The stick spun on my hand, directing me towards the mundane area of New York. Without too much trouble, I put an illusion over the Original and me, so no one saw me walking around with a wand. The spell lead us through the city and towards a huge but luxurious apartment house close to Central Park "Dammit… Do you by chance know which one apartment she could be in?"

"How should I know?" Kol questioned "I haven't seen her in over nine hundred years and we never really got along with her."

I looked at him weirdly "Why not?"

"Well, Rebekah always thought she was a bit of a strumpet while I was just never too close to Finn," he explained "So, what now?"

"Now I do something that no one should ever find out…" I looked around to check if there were any people looking at us. There weren't "Alohomora." With a quiet clock, the door opened and I entered with the vampire following behind. I cast another Point Me spell and jogged up the stairs. At one door in particular, I stopped. We were almost all the way to the top, so there was a good chance that we were in the right place. Most vampires did have expensive tastes. One last look at Kol and I knocked at the door.

A few minutes later, the door to the flat opened, revealing a tall red-haired woman "Who are you?"

"Sage, right?" I asked her, pulling out the letter from my bag "I'm here because of Finn."

Her eyes narrowed at me, she didn't even notice Kol standing a few feet behind me "I don't know who you are but Finn is dead."

"Correction. Finn was dead. Not anymore." I handed her the piece of paper "Just read this, please. I promised him that I'd bring you back."

Sage stepped to the side "Come in. This isn't something to talk about in the hall."

"Can Kol come too?" I questioned, gesturing to the Original behind me.

"Why…" she shook her head "No, never mind. Whatever." I shrugged at her absent-mindedness and followed her into the flat. When I got to the living room, the progeny was already reading through the letter with a small smile on her face "You're telling the truth," Sage murmured "How did you find me?"

I stepped a bit closer to Kol "Through a spell. Or rather… more than one spell but yeah. So, er… You have a few possibilities now. Either you can make your own way to Mystic Falls and get there by tomorrow or you can pack and wait for a few hours – Kol and I still have something to do. I have a method of traveling that is more or less instant if not very comfortable."

"Really not comfortable," Kol muttered, slinging his arms around my waist.

Sage looked at us weirdly "Finn wrote that your whole family is together now? Even Klaus?"

"Yes," Kol nodded "Nik isn't quite as bad. Nova here somehow changed him for the better…"

I blushed when he nuzzled my neck "I didn't do much."

"Well, apparently enough happened that you all got undaggered," the redhead murmured "I'll come with you later. When should I be ready?"

I shrugged "Maybe two or three hours. We'll be back in any case," I promised her. Kol and I turned around to walk back out of the flat but we were stopped by the older woman's voice.

"Hey… Thanks by the way."

"I promised Finn. The least I could do after killing their mother," I grinned sheepishly "It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you sometime."


	32. Of Dates and Reunions

Kol and I exited Sage's apartment building which was really just beside Central Park "Have you ever been here?" I questioned Kol quietly, walking alongside him.

"Sure," he nodded "It has been over a century now but since I was daggered… New York has changed so much. Everything is brighter, louder and bigger."

"You'll find that everywhere now," I smiled, taking his hand in mine "Compared to what I grew up around, it was a bit of a culture shock for me as well."

Kol looked down at me curiously "Tell me about yourself. Your parents, your childhood… I only know a bit, really. Nik and 'Lijah refused to tell me much."

I smirked "Did they threaten you?"

"How do you know?" he blinked, grin stealing its way onto his face.

"They seem the type. Plus, the two of them are a bit overprotective," I explained, looking at the green that was all around me. The park was huge and looked so amazing for something that was in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.

Kol hummed thoughtfully "I know I have said it a lot already but I'm honestly surprised how close you are to my brothers. I wouldn't even be surprised if you manage to win over Finn. You already have a huge advantage since you're going to bring his love back to him…"

"I didn't do it for that," I disagreed "Your mother manipulated him into thinking that he had to help her kill all of you. Finn – no matter how depressed he can be – is your brother. Maybe all of you should make an effort to get to know him."

The Original chuckled "Maybe we will. Are you trying to change the subject?"

I rolled my eyes "Alright… What did you want to know? Oh, yeah. Er." I was debating where I was going to start but I think the beginning might be a good idea… "Well, I was born Cassiopeia Nova Malfoy but since I'm still somewhat in hiding I use Nova Malfoy. My parents are Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Back when I was born the Dark Lord was still at large and since my parents were his followers – or minions if you will – I was exposed to his side very early. I must have been around four or five when the Dark Lord supposedly died."

"Wait," the vampire cut in "Didn't you say that he kidnapped you recently?"

"Honestly, I have no idea how he survived but he came back at the end of my brother's Fourth Year at school. So just last June, I think. Anyway, I'm my parents' oldest child. My baby brother is not so much a baby anymore. I was three when Draco was born and we get along pretty well. Although we were separated when I got accepted to Beauxbatons Academy in France while he started Hogwarts a few years later." We both stopped walking, sitting down on one of the benches scattered around the park "My childhood was pretty boring. I grew up as a bit of a rich kid but my godfather made sure that I didn't act like a brat. He was sort of my hero really. Uncle Sev is a – a Potions Master and he taught me everything he knew."

Kol leaned back a bit, turning to me fully "Right, Nik told me that you were some sort of Potions expert?"

I smiled, feeling shy all of a sudden "I'm far from being an expert but I just got my Mastery before I went back to Britain. Nik actually helped me with the Potion I invented."

"Nik helped you?" he frowned in confusion "How?"

"His blood. In the Magical World, there's a different kind of werewolf that spreads the curse by bite. They are ostracised in Britain for a thing they can't control…" I explained with a small shrug.

The Original stared at me for a moment "You really are fascinating, Peia. There are so many sides to you…"

"What did you call me?" I blinked in surprise. Really, I heard a lot of nicknames and have even more since I moved but it was the first time anyone called me Peia. Normally it was just Cas or Nova…

"Peia," Kol grinned "I kind of like it. Don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, snuggling against him. The last two days were slowly catching up to me and I was getting tired now "It's fine."

"Are you alright?"

I hummed lightly "Yeah, just tired, you know? Maybe we should go to get Sage now. If you want we can watch a movie or something later but I really want to go home now."

"Right…" he realized "You said that you looked for a spell the whole night and yesterday…"

"Yeah," I shrugged "I have a bit of a habit to not sleep or eat whenever I'm getting into a topic."

"Did you eat?"

I shook my head "No, but I'm not too hungry either. Haven't been since… Well, you know."

"Maybe you should talk to someone about it," Kol suggested "I get that you'd rather forget that it happened but I think you'll feel better."

I considered it for a moment. No matter how much I hated it, I knew that he was right but who would I talk to? Everyone I know here would probably kill them first and then the entirety of the British Wizarding World "I'll think about it," I nodded, getting up from the bench "Thanks by the way. I know this was short but I really liked spending time with you."

"I know I'm awesome, darling," Kol teased, pulling me closer to him "You're not too bad yourself."

I snorted and reached up to pull him down to my level. Without letting myself think about it too much, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and tried to pull back. Kol didn't let me though. His arms wrapped around my waist and deepened the kiss a bit more. He kept it up until I had to take a breath "Woah," I mumbled, breathing heavily.

"Woah indeed, darling," the vampire smiled, taking my hand in his "Let's go get my brother's girlfriend now, shall we? We can continue this later."

The heated look he threw me made me blush. While I had no trouble flirting back, I was more used to girls than boys so when it came to that I was still a bit shy. When I was exploring other countries with some of my friends I did occasionally steal kisses from some of the locals but nothing compared to this "Let's go."

It didn't take us long to get back to the apartment building where Sage was already waiting for us nervously "There you are," she called, coming over to us "Took your sweet time, didn't you?"

"We're here now," I shrugged "Er… We can't get back the way we came. I'm not too good with apparition yet and one extra person is my limit but I can make a portkey."

Sage tilted her head curiously "I have no idea what you just said. Are you a witch?"

I nodded "Somewhat. I'm sure Finn cam explain a bit more. Elijah probably talked to him by now." Without looking at any of them, I started digging in my bag for something I could use as a portkey. In the end, I pulled out a scarf "Portus," I muttered, tapping the scarf with my wand "Hold on to this and for the love of God don't let go and keep a tight hold on your bags. This won't be nice."

Kol raised an eyebrow at me "You warn her but not me? I'm hurt, darling. Genuinely hurt."

"Oh, grow up, you big baby," I rolled my eyes "It's not like it killed you. Now, hold on. It will bring us into the garden of my home in Mystic Falls." Once they both grabbed a hold of the cloth, I continued "3… 2… 1…" With that we were gone, leaving only a deserted flat in our wake. I landed on my feet while the vampires were sprawled on the floor "Huh. Seems like sometimes vampires aren't graceful."

"Sage," Finn gasped from the doorway. In a flash, they were embracing for the first time in nine centuries. They actually fit well together… Even though Finn seemed a bit boring and depressed, he wasn't. Sage, on the other hand, is a natural rebel. She was born to be a vampire and it really fit her lifestyle too, I think. That, of course, is only what I could gather from the twenty minutes I spent talking to the woman earlier "Thank you, Nova."

I smiled at them lightly "It was no problem. If anyone needs anything else, I'll be in my room. Should you not need anything, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Without another word, I walked into the house, past all the others who had watched the lover's reunion as well. I heard footsteps following me and knew that tonight, I wouldn't be alone. Nothing would happen and I was sure that Kol knew it as well but that didn't seem to matter much.


	33. Chillin' Like a Villain

Waking up in someone's arms was... amazing. The feeling of not being alone is something that I have been unconsciously missing. Over the course of my schooling, it was rare that any of us were alone in bed. Either one of the lower years was homesick or they didn't feel like being alone. Sexual relations weren't necessarily allowed but the teachers didn't forbid it either... Hurray, a grey zone. One that many of the girls took advantage of. That is to say that I did as well. Like I might have mentioned before, I did have experience but mostly with other girls.

"Morning," I mumbled, burying my face in Kol's shirt.

"Good morning," the vampire gave back, running a hand through my hair.

I squinted up at the Original "How long have you been awake?"

"Only a few minutes," he shrugged, tightening his arms around me when I tried to get up "No, stay."

I shook my head "If I or, in this case, we aren't down soon my cousin is going to be here within the next thirty minutes, trying to force feed me."

"You are a bit thin," Kol noted thoughtfully.

I cracked a small smile "That happens when you're stupid."

The Original tipped up my chin, making me look into his eyes "You're not stupid. You were worried about your parents and didn't think that there would be any danger."

"Like I said... stupid," I sighed "With me going there I messed up, even more, getting them into trouble again."

"The next time we'll go with you. They won't survive," Kol smirked, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes.

A dark expression crossed my face "Oh, that is a guarantee. While I'm not a supporter of Dumbledore, I'm definitely with him on the 'the Dark Lord must die' front."

"Who's Dumbledore?"

I shrugged "The so-called leader if the Light side. It's a load of shit if you ask me. The British care too much about blood and affinity. As a Dark witch I'm immediately classed as evil."

"Colour me an idiot. What's the difference again?" the Original frowned.

"Basically means that I use spells that are dependant on emotions. Most Light spells can be cast by everyone. There are some that require strong positive emotion like... like a Patronus but most of the others are pretty generic," I explained, pulling the shirt I had been sleeping in over my head "The Patronus is one of the most powerful Light spells out there. It can ward off Dementors... er... Soul wraiths without problems." As soon as I was dressed again, I opened the door and walked out with Kol following behind "Dumbledore's motto is 'For the Greater Good' which is coincidently also the catchphrase of the former Dark Lord. The one Dumbledore got rid of in… I think it was 1945 or around that time."

Elijah coughed to get my attention. It wasn't necessary since I had known that they were there when I started talking about the old goat "That was around the time Hitler was around…"

I nodded "I'm not sure if you heard the rumours about Hitler having dealings in the occult but they were true. Back then Grindelwald – the Dark Lord – had ties to the Nazi regime. It was a bit pathetic actually… I don't get why Dark Lords are always obsessed with immortality." The last part I muttered to myself but everyone else in the room heard it as clearly as if I had shouted it.

"Immortality," Kat blinked "How? Is there a spell for that too?"

"Not in the traditional sense," I shook my head "There are bits and pieces. Grindelwald was obsessed with a children's tale called 'the Tale of the Three Brothers'. It speaks of three items given to three brothers by Death himself. Whoever possesses all three of these items at the same time will become the Master of Death. I think the most he managed was the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand that only obeys its master. You can win its loyalty by disarming or killing the previous owner. That's basically what happened to the oldest brother in the story. Morbid but hey… The violence is kinda nice to see. Then there's the invisibility cloak and the resurrection stone. No idea about the whereabouts of those but the resurrection stone makes it possible to bring shades of dead people back to life. Emphasis is on shades of people. They will never be the same as they were while alive… The second brother brought back his dead love and in the end, he killed himself to be with her. The third brother, on the other hand, lives until he died of old age, hidden under Death's invisibility cloak."

Nik had a puzzled expression on his face "Didn't you say that was a children's tale? Witches and wizards tell children about killing and suicide?"

"Pretty much," I snorted "They are supposed to show us that sometimes magic causes as many problems as it cures. I actually quite like 'the Tale of the Three Brothers'. It's better than 'the Warlock's Hairy Heart'." I shuddered at the thought alone. When all the vampires looked at me curiously, I shook my head harshly "There's no way I'm telling that story. The message is that you shouldn't mess with the Dark Arts which is shit. Sure, the stuff the wizard does is bad but that's just another reason why most people think that Dark equals evil."

Finn frowned, his arm around Sage. I doubt they had let go of each other at all since they reunited. It was cute… "Why would they think that?"

I raised my hands "I don't know… Well, actually… From what I read the prejudice only started to get this bad after Dumbledore won against Grindelwald and he got the position as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Don't get me wrong, the mentality has been around for centuries already but it got a lot worse… I mostly speak of Britain because that's where I'm from. Other countries don't have that problem… The ministry has banned everything that isn't Light magic. The spell I used on your mother is actually punishable with death in some cases but mostly prison for life."

"What is so important about this Dumbdoor guy you always mention?" Rebekah questioned.

Hunter and I laughed at the name she gave the old coot. Out of everyone in the room, my cousin was the only one who had recent knowledge of the Wizarding World "Dumbledore," I corrected "He is very important in Britain actually. He holds several high positions that allow him to influence both politics and the children aged eleven to seventeen. For one he's the head of the Wizengamot. It's wizarding Britain's high court of law and parliament. Dumbledore is also the Headmaster of Britain's only school and he holds a position that's called 'Supreme Mugwump'."

"Isn't that the name for the head of the International Confederation of Wizards?" Hunter questioned "I think my father told me about that before."

I smirked "I'm sure you know a lot about our family history as well. Uncle Alphard was a Black after all."

"Too much," the Black vampire groaned, hiding his face in his hands "I'm not even sure why I had to know all the names of families we are related to…"

"Oh God," I gasped "Yeah, that's the worst. I think everyone is related over there. At least you can say that you never had the pleasure of meeting your aunt. Walburga was a fury… Still is if I can believe the stories about that portrait she stuck on a wall inside one of the ancestral homes."

Hunter bit his lip, trying to hold back the laughter "I pity whoever lives there."

"What are you talking about?" Sage asked, her head swiveling between me and Hunter.

"Mutual family," I told her "Hunter is part of the Black family although his father was disowned after he helped his nephew after Sirius ran away. My mother is Sirius' cousin, so were only distantly related but you know. Close enough. About the portrait… in the Magical World most of the purebloods get a painter to paint a portrait of them which is infused with magic and once the witch or the wizard dies, the pictures start moving and talking. It's like they get transferred to the portrait and live on in there. Walburga made it impossible for her portrait to be destroyed or taken down. I met her a few times when I was little."

Kol who had been pretty quiet since we left my room, spoke up "What about the current Dark Lord? The one that has a death sentence on his head now?"

"Oh," I grinned sheepishly. I completely forgot that they wouldn't really know much about him since I didn't talk too much about this part of Britain's history "Lord Voldemort. That's the name he calls himself." Elijah snorted, making the others burst into chuckles as well.

"What kind of name is that? Voldemort," Nik gasped out between his laughter.

I shook my head with a grin "Well, he massacred the French language a bit. Vol de Mort. Flight of Death… He likes to think himself immortal or at least close to it. The rise of Voldemort was in the early 1950s. I'm sure that he was around before that but that's when he started to actively recruit for his Death Eaters and made his presence known. He got more powerful over the next decades and it lead to the start of the First Wizarding War in 1970. It only ended because he was vanquished by a baby in the early 1980s… Don't ask me how that happened, I have no clue."

"If he was vanquished how is here now?" Elijah inquired, leaning onto his hands in contemplation.

"That's something I don't know. He suddenly returned in June. I wasn't told much about this but I think my father was called shortly after he came back. Something about a graveyard and the boy that vanquished him," I shrugged "While we're at it. I want to be changed soon if that's alright with you. I want their head on a fucking pike for what he and his stupid Death Munchers did to me and my family."

The Mikaelsons all nodded thoughtfully "Do you know if you'll be able to keep your magic?"

"Since it's different from the magic your Wiccans have, yeah," I nodded "There are quite a few of your kind around who have magic. They usually keep to the Wizarding World though."

"I'll change you," Kol volunteered immediately, ignoring the amused and knowing glances from his siblings. I had the feeling that I was missing something but I couldn't concentrate on that right now. I'm sure I'll find out sooner rather than later.

I shrugged "Fine with me. So, onto another topic. What are we going to do with the Doppelgänger and the others? They can't seem to leave us alone, even though we never did anything to them."

"I say we kill them," Rebekah stated "Especially Damon. He's mine."

"Damon?" Sage spoke up, startled "Not Salvatore?"

I raised an eyebrow at the red-head "You know him?"

Sage grimaced a bit when everyone's attention was on her "I might have… well…"

I smirked "At least Bekah isn't the only one in the room who slept with Damon." My mouth opened and close a few times "Oh, wait. I just realized that I'm the only girl in the room who hasn't slept with him. What has the world come to?"

"Nova," the three chorused in annoyance.

"You're so easy," I snorted "I guess he's somewhat charming… No, I really don't see the appeal."

Kol's arms wrapped around me "Good. You're mine."

I raised my eyebrows at him "Caveman much?" When I didn't get an answer, I just snuggled into his arms, listening to the conversation flowing around me happily. I was really glad that everyone was getting along. Especially Sage, since I was really worried that they wouldn't accept her or the other way around.


	34. The Turning Point

It's been over a week since Kol and I brought Sage back from New York and we had finally finished planning my change. The fact that it was Kol changing me didn't change but neither of them wanted to kill me. It was amusing and kind of annoying that they would constantly argue about who wouldn't kill me… Since no one wanted to do it, I decided that I would take the easy way out and take a Potion. I still had some Potion that I was experimenting on which was aptly enough a deadly Potion that would kill within a minute.

There was also the fact that they argued about me becoming a normal vampire. For some reason, the Mikaelson siblings insisted that I do the ritual that would turn me into an Original. After the first time their mother died, Elijah had taken her grimoire which detailed exactly what she did to turn them. All of the siblings had guarded the spell over the centuries and now they wanted me to… to become an Original as well.

I had to adjust a few things since my magic was different from the Original Bitch's but for the most part, it was just enchanting a glass of vampire blood the right way and then you were an Original. Okay, that was making it sound easier than it was… If it was easy then more witches would have done it… No, wait! I forgot. Witches of magic were prejudiced. They wouldn't turn a human into an Original even if they knew the ritual.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Kol asked me for the hundredth time.

I rolled my eyes and pressed a reassuring kiss to his lips. Over the last week, we had gotten closer. Sometimes I felt like we were moving way too fast but it just felt… right to be with Kol. He became important to me extremely quickly and that scared me a bit "Yes, I'm sure. Look at it this way… Tonight you have to worry for a bit but after that… We're done. I'm a vampire."

My boyfriend sighed "I guess you're right," he murmured, pulling me closer "That doesn't stop you from dying. It doesn't matter that you'll wake up again."

I smiled at him "That's cute," I teased "It's nice to see you care."

"Shut up," Kol groaned, his forehead on mine "And of course I care. You're my…" he trailed off.

"What?" I frowned and when he didn't answer I tipped his head up "Kol?"

The youngest Mikaelson male sighed "There's a bond… It's kind of like the myth of a mating bond but not really."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise "We're bonded?"

"In a matter of speaking," he nodded nervously "Do you… mind?"

I shook my head, a smile blossoming on my face "Kol, even though it's not been too long… I – I think I love you. Maybe not completely yet but I'm getting there." The next thing I knew, Kol had scoped me into his arms, twirling me around. It only took like three turns until we landed on my bed with me on top of the Original. I stared into his eyes, my laughter ebbing off "Kol…"

He surged up and captured my lips with his. After a bit of snogging, we were lying next to each other on my bed. I was cuddled into his side while Kol was playing with my hair "You know," he started quietly, making me turn my head to look up at him "The last few centuries I never felt like I belonged anywhere. Nik and Elijah were constantly daggering me and Bekah went along with it mostly. You changed that… Wow, that sounded cheesy… But seriously, Peia. My siblings haven't gotten along since we were human and even then, Finn was always alone. You changed that and I really love you for that."

I raised myself to my elbows and pecked his cheek "Do you want to know what I think?" I asked, waiting for him to nod before I continued "Everyone wanted to change who you were. They didn't like your behaviour, they didn't like you murdering people, they didn't like you in general. You don't need that, no one does. I don't want you to change… Hell, that would make me the biggest hypocrite but I need you to understand that. I like you for who you are and everyone who doesn't can go to hell."

"How the fuck do I deserve you?" Kol murmured, pulling me into his arms again.

I smirked "You don't but that's the thing. Sometimes we don't deserve shit which happens to be the best thing that happened in a long time."

"Are you sure you're only seventeen?" he snorted "You seem way too mature, especially compared to the – what do you call them? – Scooby Gang?"

"There's nothing to it," I laughed "They must be some of the most ignorant and arrogant humans, vampires and witches I have ever met. And that's saying a lot."

The Original hummed "I really don't understand their problem but all the better. It means that we can kill them, right?"

"Maybe," I shrugged "Thing is that there's still a Council in this town that hunts vampires or something. They would come after us and I don't really want to level the entire town. Too many memories… But other than that… How about next month we'll go and massacre a few Death Eaters?"

Kol's face lit up "You mean that?" he questioned excitedly.

I nodded with a grin "Of course. The sooner we get rid of them, the better. Like I said last week, I don't agree with Dumbledore at all but to get rid of the Dark Lord, I'd do everything… Almost everything."

"After what he did to you and your family I can understand that," my boyfriend murmured into my ear "Well, I'm definitely up for some bloodshed. I'm still annoyed that I missed two World Wars… That would have been great."

I rolled my eyes at him and ruffled his hair "I can imagine… Come on, let's get this over with. The sooner we're done the better."

"No," Kol whined childishly, pinning me in place with his arms "I don't want you to. What if something goes wrong?"

"You're being ridiculous," I told him "Nothing will go wrong. I checked the ritual a hundred times and the worst that can happen is me turning into a normal vampire. I'll be fine."

The vampire's grip slackened but before I could move, I was pulled into a toe-curling kiss "Fine," he pouted "Let's do this." A blink later, we were in my Potions lab where I gathered the vial of the poison.

"I thought you wanted to do it tonight," Hunter spoke up, looking at me curiously.

I shrugged "Didn't want to wait anymore. The sooner it's over and done with the sooner I can go to sleep."

Nik snorted "Only you'd worry more about sleep than dying. Absolutely typical."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I teased, pouncing on the Hybrid. He fell backward, landing with me sitting on his chest.

"Get off me, brat," Nik grumbled, making the other vampires in the room laugh. Ever since Jenna and Jeremy moved back in with Elena and Alaric, I was living with vampires exclusively. Thank God for magic otherwise I wouldn't have any privacy at all.

I scooted off of the Hybrid and got up with a grin. It was fun to annoy Nik and I could definitely see why Kol was constantly trying to mess with all of his siblings. To try and get a reaction out of them was really fun actually. Elijah was the hardest one to crack, then Finn, Nik and Rebekah was definitely the easiest to annoy although she gave as good as she got most of the time. All the more fun, right?

The actual ritual part went over pretty quickly. Kol poured some of his blood into a glass and I chanted the spell that Esther invented over it along with a few additions of my own. Like I mentioned, I had to adjust it to my magic along with everything else.

After a last glance at everyone, I knocked back the liquid, not too surprised at the fact that it actually tasted better than most Potions. Another minute or two later, I knocked back the vial full of the poison. It started working immediately and I collapsed into Kol's arms. I smiled up at him and then everything went black.


	35. Awakening

I groaned when the light from the window hit my face "Urgh." Someone must have put the daylight ring on my finger since the light didn't hurt and I definitely forgot it before "I wouldn't recommend poisoning yourself. It feels shitty." Snorts of laughter were my answer and I glared at them "Shut up."

"Aww," Nik cooed playfully, ruffling my hair "You're cute."

I slapped his hand away "Fuck off, you idiot." As soon as I had caught a glimpse of my hand, I stopped and tilted my head at the ring I was wearing. When did that get on there? Oh, right. Daylight. Not burning. Damn, my memory was a mess "Wow. That ring is ugly," I snorted.

Kol rolled his eyes, pulling me into an embrace "You can always find something else and charm it, you know."

"You're right," I nodded "I should..."

Finn handed me a glass of blood "Here. If you want more then you'll have to go out. It's the last of the blood bags."

I took a deep breath, inhaling the tempting scent of the blood. Fresh or not, it smelt amazing. Without any hesitation, I quickly knocked back the red liquid. As soon as the blood slid down my throat, I felt a sharp pain in my gums, my new fangs, sliding down. It took me a few minutes to get used to the feeling and turn my face back to normal before I looked up "Hey, I really feel like hunting now. Anyone want to come?"

Everyone exchanged glances before they shrugged "We're good. Kol can take you though," Elijah proposed, looking at his youngest brother with a smirk.

"Could you guys be any less subtle?" I groaned in annoyance, blurring over to the front door "You know what? We can discuss your total lack of subtlety when I fed. Bye." I ran out with Kol following behind just as quick.

"So, where do you want to do this?" my boyfriend questioned, easily keeping up with me.

I shrugged "Charlottesville isn't too far if we run… I feel like a haircut." That was random, like totally random but that's the only thing I could think of right now. I never really liked long hair but my mother forbade me from cutting it below my shoulders.  _'Ladies shouldn't have short hair. It's unbecoming.'_

"I'm not sure…" Kol hesitated "Can you control your bloodlust?"

"I don't feel anything," I told him, thinking about it "There are several humans around here. I can smell them but I don't feel like draining them. Well, I could but I don't need to – if that makes any sense."

Kol wrapped his arms around me, halting out progress "It does. Listen, Peia. While you were out… We were talking about moving. Mystic Falls – while it's our hometown – the Scooby Gang is kind of annoying the hell out of all of us."

"You want to move?" I blinked "Okay, I was expecting that to come sooner or later. Do you have any destination in mind?"

Kol shook his head "Nik and Bekah wanted to go back to New Orleans, the rest didn't really care. We're not sure yet though."

"Why New Orleans?"

"We built the city up. The French Quarter was a sanctuary for the supernatural. Neither of us have been back since Nik, Elijah and Bekah ran from our father," the other Original explained "Of course, I was daggered at that time because I tried to kill Nik's adopted son…"

I snorted "Why would you do that?"

Kol shrugged "He was going to be turned one way or another. Plus, I wanted to piss off Niklaus. That's always fun."

"But results in you getting daggered," I finished with a small shake of my head "Come on, let's get going." The rest of our run was more or less quiet with the occasional comment from either Kol or me. It took us half an hour to reach Charlottesville at full speed which was kind of cool if you think about it.

"Do you want to feed now or after your haircut?" The tone of Kol's voice made it very clear that he was mocking me about the urge to cut my hair. Not like he didn't do weird things before.

I pouted at him "You're mean." Without waiting for an answer, I walked straight towards the entrance of the Alley we had here and over to the magical hairdresser I had seen during my last visits. I generally preferred to do these things on the magical side because for one, if they messed it up, they could just regrow the hair and it didn't take as long as it does with the No-Majs.

"Good evening. How can I help you?" the guy by the counter questioned cheerfully.

"Hi," I smiled "Er… I'd like to get my hair cut."

The guy grinned, eyeing me intently "Certainly. Do you have any preferences?"

"Well, I'd like them short but other than that… No clue," I shrugged sheepishly, turning slightly when Kol walked up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist possessively, staring the hairdresser down with a hint of distaste.

"Here. There are several styles that would fit you pretty well," he told me, gesturing to the pictures on the wall.

I studied them closely for a moment before Kol pointed to one of them. A long tapered pixie cut that really looked pretty awesome "I like that one."

"Hm," I hummed in agreement "Then that one it is." Within twenty minutes, we were done with my haircut. I couldn't stop running my hand through the short locks. It felt so weird but strangely awesome as well… At least now, I didn't have to worry too much about my hair getting in the way of my Potions. That had annoyed the hell out of me, especially during the times I looked like crap because my hair decided to rebel against the hair tie. Yes, things like that happen. More often than not, really.

On our way out of the Alley, I noticed a beautiful necklace in the window of a jewelry shop. From what I could see it was Lapis Lazuli and would be the perfect alternative to the daylight ring. It was a basic silver chain with a blue teardrop pendant.

"Come on," Kol murmured, pulling me into the store without the slightest hesitation "Excuse me, I'd like to buy that necklace in the window? The one with the teardrop pendant."

"Of course, sir," the clerk told my boyfriend, quickly fetching the piece of jewelry "That would be one hundred dollars, please."

Kol paid for the necklace, picking it up gently. He motioned for me to turn around, so he could fasten the clasp on the back of my neck. I did what he wanted and as soon as the pendant was in place, I turned to place a gentle kiss on his lips "Thank you," I whispered, brushing my lips against his. It was our first kiss since I woke up from being dead and it felt amazing. Even better than it had before because now, I could actually feel the bond that Kol was talking about. The closer I was to him, the more it hummed. I already loved the feeling and couldn't get enough of being close to the other Original.


	36. Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update. I also might have sort of forgotten that I posted this here as well... Oops?

A month after I turned we were ready to move to New Orleans. The others wanted to make sure that I was completely in control of my bloodlust – not that I had any problems with that, to begin with. It must have been my magic somewhat loosening the hold the need for blood had on a vampire. Of course, no event could be complete without running into the Doppelgänger and her Gang one last time. And how else could it be? They were trying to kill us… All of us.

We were just done having dinner in the Grill one last time before we wanted to leave when they came up to us "Well, well, well," Nik rolled his eyes "Who do we have here?"

"A Doppelgänger and her pets," I remarked, glancing up at the group of people surrounding us. They were outnumbered five to nine but that didn't seem to matter.

"What are you doing here?" the Doppelgänger sneered, glaring at all of us.

Kat groaned "What does it look like? We're having dinner one last time before we're out of here."

"You're moving?" Damon frowned "Why?"

Hunter shrugged "Why not? It just doesn't feel right to be here anymore. Also, we don't really enjoy the company we are surrounded by." After a minute he dropped his head onto his arms, grimacing.

My eyes immediately snapped to the Bennett witch and I got up with a flourish, the others following "I would stop if I were you." When she didn't stop glaring at my cousin, I shrugged "I warned you." I held out my palm in front of me, concentrating on the Wicca. Let's see if I could cast the legal version of the Cruciatus without a wand. Over the last month, my magic had gotten stronger and I could now cast most of the spells I learned in school without a wand. The more powerful ones were still a bit of a problem. It didn't take long – half a minute or so – for the Wicca to start groaning and even screaming in pain.

"What are you doing to her? Bonnie? Bonnie!" Caroline shouted, kneeling down next to her friend.

I shrugged, an innocent expression on my face "I'm giving her a taste of her own medicine. Problem?"

Stefan growled, charging at me. Before he could touch me though, Kol was in front of me, grabbing the young vampire by the throat "Wrong move," my boyfriend growled.

"If I had thought you had some intelligence left, you would have thoroughly destroyed this notion," Elijah murmured, helping Finn to get Hunter up from the chair. The Bennett had held the spell for so long that my cousin didn't heal right. For that alone, she deserved to die.

I stalked forward dangerously, my wand sliding into my hand "You made an enemy out of us," I hissed quietly "We were leaving and you just attacked us regardless. What was the point of that?"

"You want to hurt Elena," Damon sneered, sliding in front of his girlfriend protectively. Or was it still his brother's girlfriend? Or both of theirs? It was a bit hard to tell.

Rebekah snorted "Honey, that boat has sailed a long time ago. We want nothing from you or that Doppelgänger bitch." She then turned to Kat "No offence."

Kat shrugged, stopping her fussing for a moment "None taken. I would have said the same."

I rubbed my head in annoyance "So, since I moved into town, you continuously attacked me, made me look bad in front of the other Founding Families and you accused me of kidnapping. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slaughter you."

The Scooby Gang obviously noticed that I meant what I said because they all paled "You don't have to do this," Elena said, her eyes darting from one Original to the other "Please."

"How cute," Kol cooed sarcastically "Now they think you're a good person, Peia."

Hunter – who by now had recovered from the bout of pain – stood straighter "Nova," he whispered "Let's just go. Be the better person? Please…"

I looked at my cousin and sighed "I know I should but can you honestly tell me that you just want to walk away?"

"Maybe not just," he answered, a mischievous glint lighting up his eyes.

"What do you have in mind?" I raised an eyebrow. I knew that look. Hell, I had that look on my face surprisingly often. He looked straight into my eyes and I took that as an invitation to slip into his mind, getting hit with his idea as soon as I was in. My mouth stretched into a full-on smile that made the Scooby Gang more than uneasy. Without acknowledging the questioning looks from the others, I started casting spells over them. Some were obvious spells and the others were woven into that. Everyone was looking at each other in confusion since the magic didn't seem to do anything but Hunter and I knew better. When I was done, I slipped my wand back into my sleeve and linked my hand with Kol's "Let's get going. I want to be there at noon at the latest."

Outside, I was immediately flocked by curious vampires "What did you do to them?"

I didn't even bother to hide my smile "Wouldn't you like to know?" I teased, looking around "I'll tell you later. Too many prying ears around here."

"Fine," they huffed, piling into the cars we came to the Grill with. Everything was packed or sent ahead to the house we would be moving into. We only needed to grab the other cars along with the last few boxes and then we were off.

Nik and Rebekah would share Nik's Navigator, Hunter and Kat were going in their Mercedes, while Sage, Finn and Elijah were taking the latter's BMW. That left Kol and me to take my Tesla which I was banned from driving… Kol was being such a guy… And it wasn't even his car.

We had been driving for about thirty minutes when Kol looked over at me "So, what exactly did you do to those idiots?"

I shrugged "Nothing much. They'll find themselves suddenly and tragically hating each other. There might have also been the spell that linked them along with the barrier. None of them can go further than the town limit without having the other four with them."

"Ouch," my boyfriend laughed "And Hunter came up with that?"

"It's the pacifist way," I grinned "I would have personally preferred something worse but this one lasts so. Much. Longer."

The rest of the drive, I was drifting in and out of sleep constantly. How Kol stayed awake that long, I didn't want or need to know. This was something that didn't change with becoming a vampire. I still loved my sleep whenever I wasn't researching or experimenting.

At nine the next morning, we arrived at the new house. The Plantation House, I think the Mikaelsons called it. It was a huge mansion that was a bit out of New Orleans. Apparently, that was the house they freed Nik's adopted son from. Marcellus? Elijah, Nik and Rebekah were pretty quiet when it came to him. They told us thought, that Mikael killed him when he came after them in the early 1900s.

_Flashback_

" _Why do you want to go back to New Orleans?" I questioned a few days after I woke up "I mean, you look like you don't want to go back there but still do at the same time."_

_Nik raised his eyebrow at me "That made no sense whatsoever."_

_I threw a pillow at his head "You know what I mean."_

" _I'm sure Kol told you that we built New Orleans?" He stopped and waited until I nodded. By now we had the attention of the others in the room as well "In 1810 we went to a funeral of one of the Governor's sons, Emil. I may or may not have killed him but that doesn't matter right now. When we were walking after the coffin, there was this little boy who was being whipped… He told me that he was Emil's half-brother and a slave for the Governor… Long story short, I took him in and raised him. Once Marcellus was old enough, I turned him. He and Rebekah hit it off." Here he sent an apologetic smile to his sister "I admit, I didn't handle it too well and it lead them to call Mikael."_

_He was interrupted by Rebekah's gasp "You knew?" she choked out "You knew all this time?"_

_Nik shrugged "You weren't surprised when he showed up and I can't say I blame you. Not anymore… I was a tyrant and treated you all like shit. My own family… My pack…"_

" _Niklaus," Elijah murmured, looking at his younger brother sadly "We have forgiven you." All of the Mikaelsons nodded, even Finn who had the right to be mad at his half-brother for keeping him in a box for over nine hundred years. It wasn't all forgotten but the way Nik was acting now helped quite a bit._

" _Right," the Hybrid cleared his throat "Where was I? They called Mikael, who took the chance and tried to kill me. He set fire to the theatre where Marcellus was chained up. I couldn't save him. I just left him there. He was my son…"_

_I stood from my place next to Kol and plopped down in my friend's… my brother's lap, hugging him tightly "We don't have to go there," I murmured into his ear "We can go anywhere…"_

_Nik shook his head "No, no. Maybe it's time to go back."_

_Flashback End_

It was obvious that Rebekah had been in love with Marcellus and she still missed him. Maybe there was a chance though? I mean, they left New Orleans after they fled the theatre. Could they really be sure that Marcellus didn't get out? Yes, it was a stretch but maybe there was Hope? I didn't mention anything though. Better not test my luck yet.

"Here we are," Elijah gestured "Mikaelson Mansion. Well, one of them."

I smirked "I don't even want to know how many there are."

"You're one to talk," Hunter pointed out "How many houses and mansions and castles do the Malfoys have?"

I blinked at him a few times "I have no idea, actually. Father never told me… Maybe it's because he doesn't know himself."

"See," my cousin waved his hands around crazily "Pot calling the kettle black."

"Whatever," I sighed, following the others inside. I just wanted to sleep. The naps in the car were less than pleasant, so they didn't count.

Kol wrapped his arm around my waist and lead me to the stairs "We got Missy and Nobby to clean up in here and put the furniture in the rooms it goes in. We can go straight to bed if you want to."

"You read my mind," I mumbled, trying not to trip. Maybe this research session the last few days wasn't the best idea…


End file.
